Tick Tock
by clockworksalsa
Summary: Every person on Earth had a counter of their wrist that determined who they would spend the rest of their life with. Hide had no problem with this, of course. He'd love to have a soulmate. Only, he was a Ghoul Investigator for the CCG. And his soulmate? An elusive white-haired ghoul that almost killed him when they first met. Not very canon-compliant!
1. Chapter 1

"Akira! Two on your left!" Hide called, and his partner darted towards him, away from the reaching kagune of the ghouls attempting to subdue her. He subtly sidestepped, and she adjusted perfectly to intercept a ghoul coming in from the right as he lashed his quinque at the other two. They were cut down effortlessly and efficiently. He and Akira took a breather- there were quite a few more than three, but the other teams were managing. A reported disturbance had turned out to be a small ring of ghouls stirring up trouble, but Hide had seen worse in his few years with the CCG. Hide glanced at his partner, and she offered him a rare smile. He was thankful that he had her. She was dependable, quick-witted, and especially tolerant of her polar opposite.

"How are you doing?" She asked, nodding to Hide's left hand. He looked around furtively, and then rolled up his sleeve. Six numbers were imprinted on every person's left wrist, representing hours, minutes, and seconds, from the moment that they were born. It was set resolutely at 24:00:00, until fate decided that it was time for one to meet his or her soulmate. The timer hits zero when two soulmates meet each other's eyes, and starts up again once they kiss, keeping track of the time they spend together as a couple. Ideally, there was never a lapse between zeroing out and the fated kiss- being abandoned or rejected by a soulmate could send a person into despair.

Hide's had started ticking last night.

"I'm fine. I'm just nervous- it can't be a CCG member, but if a civilian gets close to a fight like this, they could be in trouble!" Hide replied, noting that the hour column now displayed double zeroes.

"Well, maybe fate's giving you a chance to play Prince Charming. If a dashing Ghoul Investigator swooped in to save me just as I zeroed out, I'd be swooning on the spot." Akira pretended to fan herself, and Hide snorted.

"You think I'm dashing?" He teased, just as Seido ran up to the pair.

"I hope not. I could never compete with you, Hideyoshi. Lucky for me he's due for a soulmate soon." Seido said, and Akira rolled her eyes. Hide had been harping on about his soulmate all day, annoying the living daylights out of his coworkers. It's a running joke to tease Hide back, and it's admittedly grating. Impressions of him were common, as were ticking noises. He made a face at Seido, and he chortled.

"How many are left?" Akira asked, instead of reprimanding them both. This was not the time and place for fun and games, and they needed to get back to work.

Seido instantly means business. "Just a handful. Amon-san is leading a charge against a group of about five, and two tried to escape. We have them blockaded in."

"Good. We're almost done here. I shudder to think of how many casualties there might've been if we hadn't gotten to this today. A big group like this could tear through a neighborhood in no time." Akira said, and Seido nodded. She took his hand, and Hide had the decency to look away as they shared a brief kiss. He didn't know what was up with them- Seido's counter was still full, and Akira never showed hers off, but she had tried to kiss Amon before Hide joined the CCG. They _were_ together, though, and happy, so nobody pushed them. It wasn't uncommon to have relationships before one found a soulmate, just… strange, to someone like Hide. He had been raised to treasure his soulmate. That he would be blessed to have someone that would completely understand him and love him, as his perfect match. He'd personally never had a relationship that lasted longer than a day or two, knowing that there'd be only one person for him.

Something caught his eye. He followed the movement, and flicked on his communication device when he saw three more ghouls enter the scene. Only, he recognized the ghoul leading, flanked by two males.

"Rabbit." He said into his mic, and he heard Akira click her briefcase open. "Two others, unnamed. Can't see masks from here. Expect at least another two S ranks." There was a flurry of action. Seido fell back, Akira stepped to Hide's side. He could hear over the comm that Amon's attack was being split- half to stay and hold off the small fry, half to engage Rabbit and her pals. Mado-san's quinque, now wielded by his daughter, writhed dangerously in the low light.

"She must head the entire ward." Akira said, eyes locked on Rabbit, and Hide rolled his shoulders. He really didn't want to deal with high-rank ghouls right now, not with his soulmate on their way to him. As he readied his quinque, he checked his wrist one more time. Less than half an hour to go.

"Hideyoshi!" Amon's voice startled him, and he shoved his sleeve back down. He didn't want anyone to see his timer- it'd would just be a worrisome bother. "One of the ghouls escaped down a side street, 5 o'clock. Please, intercept them."

Hide wanted to remind Amon that they were of equal rank, but Akira deserved this more than anyone, and Hide wouldn't take this from her. He was going to at least tell him that, to stay out of her way, but one of the S-ranks suddenly darted in the exact direction that Amon was pointing. Cursing, Hide shot after the two ghouls, trusting Amon to let Akira lead. The alley was dark, and the sunlight had long gone, leaving Hide at the mercy of whatever lurked in there. It was wide, but not very long. He was alone. Hide spun in a slow circle, eyes scanning every nook and cranny. Could they have passed through? The back of his neck tingled, and suddenly there was pressure on his back.

Instinctively, he pitched his body forward, guarding his jugular and attempting to throw the ghoul off. With a few steps, he slammed the ghoul against the wall with all the force he could muster. They dropped, and Hide drew his quinque. He snapped it around. Based off of a Bikaku, it could switch modes from a far reaching whip to a powerful, close range Koukaku dagger. The tail end of it caught the ghoul as it hopped back, and Hide rolled away from a barrage of Ukaku projectiles. Hide smiled. He had the upper hand. Switching to his dagger, he kept his attacks close, and the ghoul was unable to respond quickly enough, focused on dodging. Hide knew that Ukaku ghouls were fast, but their stamina was next to nothing.

His opponent staggered back, using the width of the alley to its full extent. They were breathing heavily, and Hide wasn't much better. Hide could see fear in the black and red of their eyes, and he paused. Then, he shook his head. No, the least he could do was make this quick for the ghoul. It took all he had, though, to dehumanize them enough to kill them. The ghoul made a sudden break for the opposite end of the alley, and Hide switched his quinque back to its Bikaku mode, ready to end this. Another person intercepted them, though, before Hide could. The figure was dark, clothed in all black, and Hide could see four huge, writhing kagune behind… him. He made quick work of the other ghoul, throwing them roughly to the side. Hide attempted to inch away, back to the CCG. He wondered if they were handling Rabbit well. The bigger ghoul seemed content in completely destroying the other, and Hide turned to dash away.

Unfortunately, something ran after him, faster than his human feet could ever be, and he felt a slick pressure worm around his ankle. Oh, God, this was a horrible way to die. Instead of being slammed into a nearby wall, though, or impaled, he was simply lifted into the air. He hung upside down, a few feet above the concrete, and he struggled to breathe. His quinque was torn out of his hands by another kagune, and the footsteps slowed. He fleetingly wondered if his soulmate will come to his rescue, in a sick parody of Akira's prediction. His counter was probably in the seconds by now. His heart was racing, and he wasn't sure whether it was from exhaustion, fear, or hope.

Hide felt his center of gravity shift as he was righted slowly, held up by a single kagune wrapped around his throat. He didn't know if he could call for backup- his radio had gone silent. It might have been damaged in the fight. He roved his eyes over his assailant. The first thing that he saw was the hair. A shocking white, bright in the darkness of the alley. The mask, a gruesome snarl, bared teeth, one eye visible. One kakugan eye. Eyepatch? But he hadn't been spotted in forever! A shock ran through him as he met that red pupil. The eye widened, and Hide swore he heard a gasp from behind the leather of the mask. He was dropped at once, and he collapsed to the ground. He was shaking, and it took him a second to get back to his feet. The ghoul, even at full height, was a little shorter than him. That feeling, when their eyes had met- it was a textbook soulmate signal. He couldn't spare a glance to his counter, though, because he recognized the feeling of being snuck up on. His quinque. Where was his quinque?

The ghoul in front of him reached out and snapped a hand around his wrist. He was surrounded, no weapon, no communication. But then, he was spun around, and suddenly he was behind a leather-clad arm and one kagune. Eyepatch, an SS-rank ghoul, was defending him? The other ghoul, smaller than both of them and in no way matched to this challenge, seemed to realize their mistake. They stuttered back a few steps. Their kagune were weakening, flickering out. Hunger, Hide knew, was the only thing keeping them here. Why hadn't Eyepatch finished them off? It was an easy kill- beyond easy, child's play.

"This is my territory." Eyepatch hissed, and though fear rippled through Hide, there was something familiar and oddly comforting about his voice.

The other ghoul glanced over its shoulder, but held their ground. "This is… very clearly… not your… I mean, where else are we supposed to hunt?"

"Not my problem. The entire 20th Ward is mine, get it? Leave, or face the consequences." Hide then had a stunning realization. Rabbit led nothing. Eyepatch was the clear top ghoul, and he appeared to want the entire ward under his thumb.

And he had decided to spare Hide. After meeting his eyes. He risked it. Before either ghoul made another move, he checked his wrist. His timer had zeroed. Was this ghoul… his soulmate?

With a whimper, the ghoul finally escaped, leaving Hide alone with Eyepatch. As soon as the other ghoul slipped away, Rabbit came into view. Just his luck. Hide felt fear seize his heart like a vice. If Rabbit could take out a seasoned Investigator like Mado, how was he to stand a chance? Perhaps Eyepatch was just saving him for the other ghoul. He shuddered.

"The Doves retreated. We were able to wear them down, and tell off the others. I think they're heading out to 13. No casualties, unless you count the handful killed by the Doves before we got here." Rabbit said, and then, her kagune was flaring. Like a wing, it extended behind her, and Hide knew that if she wanted him dead, he would be dead. He could feel her stare, even when it was hidden by the blank eyes of her mask.

"No." Eyepatch commanded, and waved Rabbit away. "I'll meet up with you later."

The heavy feeling in Hide's chest lessened a bit. He was safe, then? He felt safe. Was that wrong? He shouldn't feel like that, not when he could reach out and touch an extremely dangerous ghoul. Even if he was Hide's soulmate.

Rabbit seemed reluctant to leave, but eventually nodded and backed into the darkness. He could still see the bright red of her kagune burning in the distance. Alone again. What now? Eyepatch turned slowly, and their eyes met again. There was that same zap, that shock of realization, and Hide _knew_. He wondered if the ghoul could feel it too? Judging by his quickly relaxing posture, the softening and dissipation of his kagune, he must. Eyepatch took a hesitant step towards him, and Hide felt like closing the distance between them. Despite the situation, the magnetism pulling at his very being was almost overwhelming. Instead, he settled for introducing himself, at least.

"Hi." he breathed, and Eyepatch subtly shook his head. Hide pretended not to notice. "I'm-"

A single finger shushed him, only an inch or two from his lips. Eyepatch's visible eyebrow was drawn, and he seemed almost apologetic. It only took him a stride or two to make it out if the alleyway. Hide had never felt so lonely. For a second, he could've sworn he was drowning. This was what being rejected by a soulmate feels like? He almost collapsed, but was able to keep himself upright with the support of the wall. Taking a shuddering breath, he fiddled with his comm until he could hear a weak signal start to hum. He'd worn out enough headphones to know that devices could work if held a certain way. He pushed the button, and heard the shaky feedback of a receiving comm. Thank God. He also saw the glint of his briefcase, and managed to blindly locate his quinque.

"Nagachika Hideyoshi reporting in." He said into the mic as he wandered back out to where they were fighting over an hour ago. "Please send retrieval. I'm way too tired to walk back to headquarters. Over."


	2. Chapter 2

Hide resisted the urge to strangle himself with his tie. Barely. Work has been dragging on more than usual, without any field work to take care of. Hide was a popular source of entertainment, and today was no exception. Seido and a few others hanging around would _not_ leave him alone about his soulmate. Thanks to the shenanigans yesterday, it seemed that everyone at headquarters and their mother knew that Hide's timer zeroed, and his mysterious disappearing act last night helped nothing. They could never know the truth- that he was an CCG First Class Ghoul Investigator with a ghoul for a soulmate.

"Is she tall? I feel like you'd prefer a tall lady, Hide." Seido waggled his eyebrows. Hide huffed and bent further over the papers on his desk. He hadn't filled out any of them, and was honestly considering bribing a Bureau Investigator to do it for him. He'd never liked the formal stuff. Akira walked by, towering over them in her heels. Seido looked meaningfully at Hide, and he scoffed. His insides felt all mixed up. He had no problem listing his soulmate's good qualities- he'd only seen him once, and already loved that hair, his strength, how good he looked in leather. He just wished people wouldn't pry, because every question reminded him that Eyepatch had left him with nothing. He didn't even know his real name! How was he supposed to find someone who was completely off the radar?

"She probably has to be tough, to counter your personality, too. You're super nice." Seido mused. Hide died a little more inside. "Was the kiss good? I hear it's like, amazing."

"Buzz off." He snapped. Seido wilted, and Akira came by again, this time, pausing at his desk.

"That's really none of your business, is it?" she deadpanned, forcibly turning her boyfriend away from her partner. Hide thanked her with his eyes, and finally cracked down on his work. Maybe if he finished, he could get off early, and figure out what to do. He hated the gaping-hole feeling in his chest. He reached to his left to grab a pen, and started when he felt a hand pull him farther than he intended to go.

Seido quickly flipped Hide's arm and pushed up his sleeve. "Let's see how you're coming… along…"

Hide snatched his arm back, covering the six zeros imprinted there. Akira and Seido stared for a moment. Hide felt his cheeks burn. He didn't know why, but he was sort of embarrassed. Akira snapped out of it, and smacked Seido upside the head.

"Rude." she bit, and came around to stand behind Hide. She rubbed one shoulder awkwardly, in her way of assurance. "Come with me."

They left Seido, tentatively feeling the back of his head, and walked to an empty hallway off of the offices. It was nice and open, polished metal and glass, and Akira moved to lean against the wall. Hide followed suit, more at ease with his partner than any other Investigator by far.

"Sorry." she said, keeping her eyes straight ahead. He had to give her credit for trying, though. Emotions weren't really her deal- it was why she had earned the nickname 'Ice Queen'.

"Don't apologize for him. It's not your fault." Hide shrugged, nudging her with his shoulder. She looked over at him.

"Not just for Seido." she sighed, and held up her left arm between them. She rolled up her own sleeve, and Hide had to take a second to process what he saw. Her timer was all zeroed out, like his, but faded. It looked like she had it written on, and the ink was starting to wear off. He met her eyes, and they were more emotive than he'd seen in a while.

"What…?" He couldn't seem to put his question into words, but she understood anyway. Her sleeve fell back into place as she let her arm drop.

"Amon is my soulmate." she began, and Hide raised his eyebrows.

"But, you two are so…"

"I know. He hates himself for wanting to be with me, and I hate him for making me suffer like that. Soulmates can feel what the other is feeling, and… well. We were fated to be together..." Akira shifted closer to Hide. Their shoulders brushed. "But, before I worked here, he fell in love with another woman. They weren't soulmates, but he wanted her to be his. I'm not sure how she felt. I never met her."

Akira sounded bitter, and Hide had to keep himself from firing off all sorts of questions.

"Anyway. She died, and he never got over it. So when his mark began counting down, he made sure to avoid the eyes of every person that day. He didn't want a soulmate that wasn't her. I, on the other hand, couldn't wait. I'd always been… closed off. I wanted someone to understand me. Amon walked into the room, and I could just _tell_. He refused to look anywhere but down at his own hands, and I stormed over there… you can imagine."

Hide could. Akira was quite frightening when she wanted to be.

"We both felt it, when our eyes met. That… spark. But then, I could see this wall come down, and he didn't speak to me for the rest of the day. I felt like he tore out my heart. He must have felt that too, but he'd made up his mind a long time ago. _She_ took his heart with her. Sometimes, when I get really drunk, I still try and kiss him. It's that bond, pulling me in. But... both of our marks are greying. Pretty soon, I think there won't be anything there. How crazy is that? I guess fate can make mistakes sometimes."

Hide felt a weight on his shoulder. Her eyes were closed. "Why are you telling me this? It must be hard. To talk about it."

Akira suddenly straightened up, and the fire was back in her eyes. "Because, Hide. I don't want you to end up like me. You're so wonderful. I'd hate to see how you'd change as the days wear on, as you get lonelier and lonelier. Go out and find your soulmate! Don't let them slip away from you- you deserve to be happy."

He nodded. She smiled, genuinely, and it warmed Hide's heart. He still had a chance. "Should I-"

"You can have the rest of the night off. I'll cover for you." Akira suggested, and Hide laughed. She was really a great partner, but an even better friend. They went back into the office, and Hide packed up his stuff so that he could leave. He wasn't sure how, but he would find his soulmate for sure! Though, there would be… complications…

Seido apologized no less than six times before he managed to leave. Hide gratefully breathed in the crisp night air for a moment once he got outside. He had a good feeling blossoming in his chest, filling the void that had taken up residence there. That feeling turned into a tug, and his feet started moving before he could properly decide on a course of action.

He ended up in the shadier parts of town, where a couple of C-class ghouls had been taken down that afternoon. Of course! To find a ghoul, he had to think like a ghoul. He had learned that in training. The fact that his mind didn't know where his body was taking him was obviously disconcerting, but the tugging sensation was only getting stronger. Any minute now, he would be face to face with his soulmate.

Who was an SS rated ghoul. Yikes.

Hide shook his head, ignoring his fear. For one, he was well-versed in ghoul combat, and he could always page for backup, if it came to that. He could hold his own in a fight. His pace slowed as he reassured himself. Eyepatch- or whatever his real name was- wouldn't hurt him. He didn't want to hurt him. If he had, Hide wouldn't have walked out of that alley alive.

The streets he was walking were totally abandoned. He came to a stop. As an Investigator, he had to remain completely impartial when it came to those he hunted. But he knew. He knew that ghouls were just unlucky people who were dealt a horrible hand, cursed to hide in the shadows and survive off of human flesh. He couldn't imagine what that had to be like. Lonely, probably. Some ghouls _were_ dangerous, of course- he wasn't an idiot. Those who killed excessively and mercilessly needed to be taken care of, for public safety. But that went for humans and ghouls alike. Ghouls could be good people.

He just hoped that Eyepatch was one of those ghouls.

"You shouldn't have come here, Investigator."


	3. Chapter 3

This was actually happening. He spun on his heel, heart hammering away. Eyepatch stood there in completely casual clothes, hands in his pockets, posture relaxed. The only thing that gave him away was the hair. Well, and the extremely powerful feeling of _rightness_ that his entire body seemed to emit. Hide had to tell him everything immediately, before he ran off again, he doubted that he'd get another chance.

"I'm Nagachika Hideyoshi. I'm a first class Special Investigator at the 20th Ward branch of the CCG. I'm not a natural blonde. I really like music, and I actually hate wearing suits so I probably made the wrong career choice. That's… even more relevant seeing as that my soulmate is… you." He got out in a rush, and a Eyepatch tilted his head. He seemed to be holding back a smile. That was good, right?

"I'm so happy I found you. See, like, I don't even know your real name, so it's not like I could look you up in the phone book! I've felt so… hollow, you know? And now, that you're here, I just…" Eyepatch finally laughed, but it was empty, and a sinking feeling ran through Hide.

"Hideyoshi-san. While I'm sure you are a perfectly good person, I… can't bring myself to believe in soulmates." He shuffles a bit closer, though. "I grew up in very deplorable conditions. There was no love in my household. And my life as a ghoul… I'm not sure I have enough heart left, Hide-kun. And of course, I would have an Dove for a soulmate! Isn't it cruelly ironic?"

Hide's heart clenched. The way Eyepatch changed his name, though, let him know that there was still hope. "Please, can we at least try?"

"Tell me this, then- do you think it would be right for a human to be with a ghoul? Not only are you risking your own life, but you also present a danger to me! And now, you've seen my face as well. Would you risk your own, your friends, family, neighbors, to protect a monster?" Eyepatch sounded almost furious, and Hide barely kept himself from flinching as he raised his voice. He thought hard about his answer, and the ghoul across from him watched pensively.

"I don't know." He answered quietly. He knew Eyepatch could hear him. "But I… we can try, though. I can quit. I'll quit! A lot of people say I'm too soft for the job, anyway. The only reason I'm so good is because I'm smart. And I'm smart enough to know that I'd rather have you, complications be damned."

Eyepatch looked away. His shoulders sagged. "You're naive."

He turned back to Hide, and walked even closer. They were only a few feet apart, now. Hide snorted. "You're incredibly cynical."

Eyepatch shook his head. Hide didn't miss the smile playing at his lips. Hide grinned back. This could work. They could make it work.

"Hold still." Eyepatch whispered, and Hide froze obligingly. He wondered what a kiss would be like, from a ghoul's perspective. Would it be hard, for Eyepatch? He didn't want to inconvenience him. Eyepatch came even closer, and Hide let his eyes close. God, he could die right this minute, and he wouldn't care. He felt hands on his shoulders, and then, breath on his lips. Either way, he felt like his heart was about to give out. Hide's wrist stung as their lips finally met, and he couldn't restrain his gasp. He felt something like fire run its course through the entirety of his body, and his hands shook as he cupped his soulmate's face.

"Mmhh…" The ghoul sighed as he pressed closer to Hide, arms wrapping around his neck. Hide's mind went blank when he felt something wet and welcoming gently pry open his lips. Oh, God, oh God, oh God, he was dead, he had died and gone to heaven-

"Jesus." Eyepatch gasped as they separated, breath ragged. Hide's head felt deliciously fuzzy, and his mouth tasted like bitter coffee. Better than the alternative, he guessed. They were still wrapped up in each other, and Eyepatch's eyes were wide. He was staring at Hide in wonder. He carefully stepped back, and Hide let his hands drop. They weren't shaking any more, but his wrist felt peculiar. He rolled up his sleeve, and he saw the ghoul quickly do the same. His breath left him in a rush. Barely able to think, Hide reached over and grabbed Eyepatch's left hand, placing it next to his own. The seconds ticked by in tandem. Counting up, instead of down. For some reason, Hide's eyes watered. It was… a lot to take in. A lot of emotion. He'd found the person he'd spend the rest of his life with.

"This won't be easy. I know that." Hide's throat felt tight, and he had to clear it before he continued. "But, look. We're… I mean, you felt that, right? It's like some sort of fairytale."

"More like a tragedy." The ghoul murmured, but he sounded just as affected. Wonderous, almost. "But… I _am_ willing… to try."

Hide laughed, and carefully considered his next move. He didn't want to scare Eyepatch off, but he needed to express this, this _joy_ , consuming him. It didn't even cross his mind that his soulmate could probably sense what he was feeling. He reached out with both arms, testing the waters. Eyepatch was still in a daze. He eyed Hide's movement curiously, but didn't protest. He gently put both arms around Eyepatch, and held him close. The fabric of his sweater was really soft, and he nestled his face into it. He felt hands settle on the small of his back, and then he was being hugged back.

"This is really nice." the ghoul said into his hair, and Hide nodded. "Strange. But nice."

"We'll figure it out. My chest is like, really full. You feel that?" Hide asked, nearly melting when his soulmate began unconsciously tracing his fingers along Hide's back.

"Mm. It's… happiness, or something like that. Haven't felt it in a while."

"That's sad." Hide pulled back enough so that he could look the ghoul in the eyes. They were grey, and troubled. They reminded Hide of stormclouds. Eyepatch smiled softly, and looked over his shoulder. He was thinking. Hide let him be.

"Can you get the day off tomorrow? Does… do Investigators do that?" He asked quietly, and Hide thought about it. It wasn't conventional, but Akira would probably let it slide.

"Not normally, but I can make it happen. Why?"

"There's a coffee shop that I like. Anteiku. We should meet there."

"Like a date?" Eyepatch looked back at him.

"Yes." He sounded unsure. Confident, Hide pecked him on the lips. He could be brave enough for both of them.

"Give me a time and address. You can count on me!"


	4. Chapter 4

Hide practiced his fake cough a couple more times. He hoped it was believable enough. He unlocked his phone, tapping open his contacts. Akira picked up on the second ring.

"You're late." Hide winced at her tone. He was already in the doghouse.

"I know, I know. I'm just really sick, Akira. Don't think I can make it today." He hacked into the receiver, and he could almost see his partner recoiling from her phone.

"Ugh. Jeez, get some rest, eat some soup. Do whatever it is you need to do, just…"

"Thanks, Akira. See you tomorrow." Hide did a fist pump, and nearly pressed the end call button.

"Oh, and Hide? Don't lie to me ever again." She hung up before he did. Whoops. Well, he should have known. Akira was too smart to be played. Skipping over to his closet, Hide thought about what he should wear. His first official date! Sure, he'd fooled around with a couple of people, but hey. They couldn't keep their hands off of him! And the relationships never lasted long, or made it very far. Just a few kisses here, a few broken hearts there. He'd always felt bad about it afterward, knowing that his soulmate was out there. They always understood- the allure of a soulmate couldn't compare to any old relationship.

He pulled out one of his suits. God, no. That was way too dressed up. Wasn't it? Eyepatch had only ever seen him in his work clothes- maybe he had fancy expectations. Hide knew next to nothing about this coffee shop. Would he look out of place in a suit? Hide furrowed his eyebrows and returned it to the closet. No way. He browsed over his casual stuff. Curse his love for bright colors. Though it was kind of his aesthetic, he didn't want to look like a dandelion on his first date.

So that basically ruled out all of his clothes.

"Man…" Frustrated and on the verge of panicking, he found one of his nicer pairs of jeans. Jeans went with everything. They were casual. But… if he dressed it up a little with his top… He would probably looked formal enough to not look dismissive of the date, and lowkey enough to not be an eyesore. Hide rubbed at his eyes as he swiped one of his button-ups. This dating stuff was hard work, and he wasn't even on the date yet! A calming feeling suddenly washed over him, and he stepped away from his closet. Woah. His soulmate wouldn't care what he wore. They were there for each other, and each other only. He knew that if the ghoul showed up in some crazy outfit, it wouldn't matter.

Hide quickly dressed, and ran a brush through his hair. Hmm. He'd have to get it touched up again, soon. Posing in the mirror, he felt his confidence boost. He let his jitters propel him out the door and down the street. It only took him about thirty seconds before he realized he'd forgotten his shoes.

oOo

"Hi! It's so nice to- ah, no…" Hide grimaced as he followed the directions on his phone, looking up at a street sign. Not that far away now. He needed to figure out what to say, and not sound like a dork. Worst case, he got tongue tied or something. Eyepatch wouldn't care, right? Maybe he'd see it as endearing. This date wasn't that big of a deal, haha. Just… going to meet his ghoul soulmate. In an unfamiliar situation.

With no quinque.

No way to contact headquarters.

He hadn't told anyone where he'd gone. If he disappeared…

No. Oh God, how dare he. How dare he assume Eyepatch would put him in any danger! What was wrong with him? He'd never been a pessimistic person- why did he have such a glum feeling? All day, he'd been bringing himself down.

" _Mm. It's… happiness, or something like that. Haven't felt it in a while."_

Oh. Maybe… maybe it was because his soulmate wasn't a particularly cheerful person? Oh, man. He'd have to work even harder to send his positivity through their bond, then! He put a bit more pep into his step as he made the last turn onto the right street. Anteiku, straight ahead. His soulmate, straight ahead. He let his face split into a grin. He felt a lot better now that he understood, though he should probably still do some research into all the effects. Next stop, the library!

He was assaulted with the smell of coffee as he pushed open the door, and he stopped in the entryway to take it in. It smelled really nice, and familiar. He surveyed the tables, and something drew him to one by the window, small and set for two. He felt a slight pull in his chest. Hmm. He looked behind him- he'd taken the seat facing away from the door- to see his soulmate walk into the shop. Ah. That pull- he was looking for Hide! Eyepatch's head turned in his direction, and he waved happily. The smile that spread across his face warmed Hide's heart. Someone stopped Eyepatch on the way over, and he waved them off with a laugh. The waitress seemed taken aback by his attitude. She followed him over, arms crossed.

"Hide! You made it." Eyepatch slid into the seat across from Hide, and the waitress stood behind him. Her eyes were searing.

"Would you like to order?" She asked, and her expression seemed to dare Hide to do so. That voice… sounded awfully familiar…

"I'll take my regular. Hide?" Eyepatch answered, and Hide turned to him. The gears in his head were still working.

"Vanilla latte?" His eyes darted back to the waitress, and she nodded in confirmation. She still looked a little angry.

"That will be right out." She tossed one look over her shoulder as she left, and Hide started. Here he was on a date, and still _Investigating_. He couldn't help that he was trained to find ghouls, though. And they seemed to want to come to him!

His soulmate smiled ruefully, probably aware that he'd had a little epiphany. "You can ask me, you know. I can see it in your face."

"Is this a ghoul cafe?" He asked, before he could stop himself. They'd heard of ghoul hotspots, and had a few ideas as to where they might be. Anteiku wasn't even on their radar, though coffee shops were common guesses.

"Yes. When I suggested it, I didn't even realize… well, at any rate, know that you're not in any danger. _I'm_ the most dangerous one here. Well, second… I think." Eyepatch shrugged, and Hide looked at all the patrons, then, the servers. Everything seemed normal. "This is a safe place. For humans, and ghouls."

Hide nodded, satisfied. "I'll keep this to myself, obviously. Oh, and our waitress-"

"We've met before, if you were wondering. Don't go saying our _names_ out loud, Dove." The waitress interjected, setting their drinks down in front of them.

Eyepatch rolled his eyes. "Behave, Touka. He wouldn't do anything to put us in jeopardy."

"Oh, you mean other than _existing_? You might be a bit biased, Kaneki." Touka huffed. Hide looked between the two of them. Then, he realized what she had said. _Kaneki._ He knew his soulmate's name, now. Thank God, it would have been embarrassing to call him Eyepatch.

"Do you honestly think I would bring him here if I thought it would hurt any one of us? He's my _soulmate_. He has to be a part of my life." Kaneki reminded her gently, and Hide nearly melted. Hearing it out loud was kind of reassuring.

"So you might as well start working for the CCG!" Before Kaneki could reply, Touka stalked off, and he sighed.

"Sorry about her. She doesn't take kindly to strangers." He said, wrapping his fingers around his cup. He brought it up to his face, and closed his eyes.

"You called me your soulmate." Hide said dreamily, and Kaneki smiled. He took a deep breath through his nose.

"That's what you are, aren't you?" Hide nodded, before he remembered that Kaneki's eyes were closed.

"Kaneki." He tried, and the ghoul opened his eyes. Ooh, he liked saying it. A lot.

"Yes, Hide?"

"This is nice." Hide reached for his own cup, and mirrored Kaneki.

"Yes, it is."


	5. Chapter 5

"So, how long have you worked for the CCG?" Kaneki asked, tracing a slender finger around the rim of his cup. Hide tilted his head, thinking back. The date was going swimmingly so far. They'd settled in, and already gotten refills on their drinks. Seemed like Kaneki had resorted to good old Q&A.

"Um, only about three or four years? Approaching five, but… yeah. I started as a delivery boy when I was still in high school." Hide scratched the back of his head.

" _Only_ half a decade, huh?" Hide snorted at Kaneki's tone.

"Well, I'm already First Class, which is hard to do as fast as I did it. So the time seems very short to me. How long have you been a part of _this_ , then?" Kaneki took a sip of his coffee, and Hide winced a little. His was still too hot to drink, and Kaneki's was obviously the same temperature. Shouldn't it have hurt?

"First Class, huh? Well, let's see… I've been here since I was about 18, so… only two or three years. But, they've been… eventful." Kaneki answered, and Hide did the math. Kaneki was his age, unsurprisingly- soulmates usually ended up that way. Only 20 or so. But… Hide could've sworn he was older. He realized that experience must have really taken its toll on the man in front of him.

"Well… For all the time we've spent with our organizations, we're both pretty willing to betray them…" Hide muttered, then flushed. That was probably rude to say.

Kaneki shrugged one shoulder. "We're Romeo and Juliet. See, I told you- tragedy. Hopefully we'll last more than a week, though."

"Jeez, with our occupations, who knows? Oh, God. That's pretty sad." Hide commented, disliking the turn that their conversation had taken. Kaneki smiled glumly.

"In our line of work, it's easy to become desensitized to things like mortality." Hide huffed, and nodded once.

"Let's perk back up, shall we? What arbitrary information do people ask for on dates?" Hide asked, placing both elbows on the table and leaning on his hands. He gently moved his coffee out of the way. He wondered if Touka had make it undrinkable-ly hot on purpose.

Kaneki laughed, and his smile melted into something more genuine. "Hmm. Favorite color? Mine's… Black."

"Ugh. So drab, Kaneki. My favorite color is yellow." Kaneki's face twisted in disdain, and Hide raised his eyebrows. "Too bright for you, Mr. Dracula?"

"No, no. Just… yellow? Whatever, um… favorite… food?" Kaneki asked, and Hide puffed out his cheeks. Kaneki sounded uncomfortable, of course he would be, asking his human soulmate about his dietary needs. Gross.

"Cheeseburgers. Oh man, could I tell you stories… Um, favorite… coffee brand!" Ah, there we go. Applicable question. Kaneki seemed grateful.

"I have a couple. You've probably never heard of them, humans don't really care for fine coffee." Kaneki looked back behind him, at the bar where the coffee was made. "Anteiku has a vast selection."

"Hmm. How do you know that I'm not an expert in… fine coffee?" Hide raised an eyebrow, and Kaneki grinned.

"You probably like instant coffee, that's why. And I could smell the office coffee on you when we met. Not great."

"What's wrong with instant?" Hide asked, and Kaneki made a face. "That bad, huh? Looks like I'll have to go shopping…"

"Oh, God, don't tell me. Do you even have a coffee maker?" Kaneki seemed ready to bust a seam. He was holding back his laughter for Hide's sake, which he appreciated.

" _Yeeees_ …" Kaneki gave him a look. "Hey, it might not… you know, actually function, but I have one!" Kaneki couldn't take it. He broke out in peals of laughter, and Hide thanked his head down on the table.

"T-to be fair, I cannot cook for you either. So we're even." Kaneki wheezed, and Hide couldn't help his own chuckles. Hide liked this side of Kaneki. Not that he wasn't bad-ass when he was fighting, he was. But now, he seemed… softer. Nicer. More enthusiastic.

"Say, Kaneki. You seem happier." Hide blurted, and Kaneki's laughter died down. "Well, I m-mean, what you said yesterday, you know, about not being happy…"

"You make me happy." Kaneki quietly admitted, and he looked away. "To be honest, I'm not sure if that's a good thing."

The mood shift was almost immediate, and Hide froze. "Why not? Isn't it good to be happy?"

"I'm not… I'm not _nice_ , Hide. I'm definitely not a good person, even though I pretend I am. I just… Maybe if you saw what I'm really like, you'd leave. And everyone would be safer." Kaneki looked back at him. "I'm as dangerous as they come, Hide."

He shook his head. Fear throbbed in his mind, and it set him on edge. But Kaneki didn't have to know that. "I'm not scared of you. You wouldn't hurt me."

Kaneki laughed mockingly. "Maybe it's not me you have to fear, you're right. But you're still human. Do you ever even think about how _fragile_ you are? So breakable… and if I can't protect you… You have my sanity in your hands, now. Not that there's much of it left."

"Fine, then. Let's agree to keep this simple. There's no rule that says soulmates _have_ to be, you know, so _involved_ with each other. We can… be platonic. Casual. Less contact, less danger, right?" Hide suggested snappily, and Kaneki's eyes widened.

"No! What I mean is, you have to be willing to work with me on certain things. I'm not easy to deal with, even on good days. I can be difficult… I can be… scary. I don't want to run you off. And if you get pulled into my messes, you _have to watch your back_." Kaneki clarified, and Hide calmed down a bit. Then, he furrowed his eyebrows.

"I'm a Ghoul Investigator, Kaneki. I'm trained to deal with hostile ghouls on a daily basis."

Kaneki closed his eyes. "There are things you don't know, Hide, about ghouls. About what's going on. About… how messed up the world has gotten."

"Then clue me in! I know I can't go to my squad with this, but at least I'll be prepared! I _want_ you in my life! You can't imagine how I felt, after you left me in that alley-"

"What, you think I didn't feel it too? I need you! I… we should be in this together. And instead, we're bickering like old ladies…" Kaneki banged his fist on the table, and Hide jumped. Kaneki's hands were shaking.

"No. Hey, you're right." Hide said softly, and a reached out his hand. He laid it over Kaneki's clenched fingers. "I probably _am_ in over my head, but, we can work it out, okay? We both need each other. There's no way around that, unless we wanna feel horrible."

Kaneki finally opened his eyes. He sighed tiredly. "You're right, too. We'll go blue in the face before we come to a conclusion this way. You… I trust you. You can handle a couple of ghouls. I mean, I watched you fight that one guy for a while- you're fast. That's good."

"Yeah! And, like you said! I have a positive effect on you, right? Maybe it'll stick. There's always room for improvement." Kaneki's fist softened, and his fingers weaved around Hide's.

"We can try, Hide. When I'm with you, I don't feel as empty. You make me feel…" Kaneki trailed off, unable or unwilling to finish. Hide didn't mind. He got the gist. He squeezed the hand in his, and felt a squeeze back. Good. This was good. Their hands remained clasped on the tabletop as they finished up their coffee. They asked each other a few more questions, and soon they were smiling and laughing again. It made Hide happy, that they could have a serious conversation like that and then bounce back to easygoing.

"Thank you, Touka-san!" Hide chimed as the waitress took their cups back. She grumbled something under her breath, and Kaneki shot her a reproaching look.

"Yes, thank you, Touka. I'll come back for my shift soon, okay?" Kaneki said as they stood. Hide stretched, and his back popped. Wow, they'd been here a while. Wait, Kaneki worked here? He kinda wanted to see him in uniform. He glanced quickly at what he was wearing currently. Slim-fitting black slacks, and a grey sweater. Pretty dull, Hide noted. And dressy-casual. He'd nailed it.

"Please do, I don't want to deal with Nishiki when he has to pick up your slack." Touka said, and smiled fleetingly. Then, she was off.

He and Kaneki made their way out of Anteiku together. Hide checked his phone once he got outside. No notifications. All of his friends were working. "I had a great time, Kaneki!"

Kaneki smiled and pulled out his own phone. "We were in there for quite some time. I had fun, too. I liked that story about… what was his name? Seido?"

"Oh, yeah! Jeez, he gets into so many situations, 'cause he's dating my partner, but he hero-worships her, like, least favorite person!" Hide laughed, and then had an idea. He pulled up his contacts.

"And you're stuck in an office with these people?" Kaneki murmured, noticing Hide's screen. "Oh, of course."

Without prompting, he took Hide's phone and replaced it with his own. "Pretty much. Field work is always a ball too, because there's always some sort of drama going on. I imagine it'll be centered around me for the next few days…"

"Ah. I'd like to see that…" Kaneki chuckled, and returned Hide's phone. He'd written in his contact name with a 1, so that he'd show up first. Ha, Hide had done the same thing!

"Great minds think alike!" Hide said as he pocketed his phone, and Kaneki grinned.

"Okay. I'd better get back, or Nishiki'll have my head." Kaneki sighed, smile slipping into a faux-frown.

"He sounds fun." Hide said dryly. "You should introduce us."

"Maybe." Kaneki swept his eyes left and right, as if looking for something. Then, he put both hands on either side of Hide's face. Oh. _Oh_. Hide might've been a bit too eager, but he swept in himself before Kaneki could draw it out in an attempt at romance. Their noses clashed a little, but a tilt of the head fixed that right up. Hide's hands came up to grip Kaneki's hair, and he felt the ghoul shudder a bit. Sooner than he would've liked, Kaneki pulled back. His eyes were half lidded, and he seemed flushed.

Hide had to know. "Is that… is kissing me… difficult?"

Kaneki shook his head, and Hide released him. Kaneki's hands dropped too. "No. Not, uh, now, at least. I thought it might be, but- you don't, I mean… you don't even register as, you know, _food_. Uh." Kaneki sounded just a bit winded, and incredibly flustered. Hide didn't mind the technical talk. He knew what Kaneki was, and what he had to do.

"Of course, you aren't hungry, are you?" Hide guessed, and Kaneki smiled sheepishly.

"No, but I'll make sure to warn you. Um. Goodbye, Hide."

"Bye, Kaneki! Text me, okay?" Hide commanded, and Kaneki promised to. Good. Kaneki went back into the shop with one final wave, and Hide began to retrace his steps back to his apartment. Wow. His first date went amazingly well! All things considered.


	6. Chapter 6

**In the future, if happening at all (which it isn't cause this ain't canon boohoo)**

Kaneki found himself humming as he strung up the tea lights, swaying softly on the ladder that he was upon. He chuckled to himself, tacking the very end in its spot. With a thumbs up to Nishiki, the lights sprang to life, casting a very festive green and red glow over the ghouls working to Christmas Anteiku up.

"Looks good, Kaneki!" Touka called. He grinned and stepped off the ladder, knees barely groaning as he hit the ground. The cafe was smattered with this and that, a wreath here, a few sprigs of mistletoe there. Touka was just finishing up the garnishes on the Christmas tree. All in all, it was pretty impressive, and Kaneki was sure that many of their regulars would appreciate the holiday setting. The door to the back creaked open, and Yoshimura stuck his head in. He nodded, eyes crinkling in the corners as he smiled.

"Thank you all for your hard work." He said sincerely. A chorus of objections arose, _it was our pleasure, Manager! We love helping out! Tis the season!_

"Hey, Kaneki, any plans?" Touka asked as the Manager was continually bombarded with generous exclamations of goodwill. She quirked an eyebrow. Kaneki hadn't really thought about it. He… hadn't considered that he'd actually be doing things this year. Last year was tumultuous for all of them, and prior to that he hadn't felt much like celebrating at all. But… he was at a good place as of late. Touka scanned his expression. "Have you talked to Hide?"

Kaneki blanched. Oh God. He hadn't, at all. Touka snorted. "C'mon, half-ass. Do I gotta do everything around here?"

"N-no!" then "Well, I just… forgot!" Kaneki said, panic starting to overwhelm him. He didn't even know what Hide would want, or where he would want to go. Did he have family obligations? Did the Nagachika holidays supersede Kaneki? Touka's soft hands pried his fingers apart. He'd been gripping his index finger tightly, pushing it back, with enough pressure to… break… it…

"It's okay." She soothed, voice unusually gentle. Kaneki's head was kind of fuzzy. Disoriented, he tried to focus on Touka's face. "Listen, I was kidding. There's still enough time to figure stuff out. No need to go panic mode."

Kaneki mirrored her breathing. Was it sad that all of his friends knew how to divert panic attacks? God, he was miserable, wasn't he? A tug in his chest let him know that Hide had noticed too. The sudden influx of positivity was dizzying. Touka dropped his hands, satisfied with the small smile playing at his lips. She tilted her head. "So, plans. Hinami and I were going to go ice skating. We could let Hide tag along. Get him… what is it, hot chocolate? Candy canes?"

"Sounds nice." Kaneki mused, stepping his fingers. The cafe had died down some. Many ghouls had left, finished for the day. It really was quite late. They were the only two on the floor, but he was sure there were a few stragglers around. "The rink with the huge tree next to it?"

Touka shrugged. "Yeah. Horribly cliche, but Hinami _loves_ this stuff, big gestures, the lights, all the people. Fun."

Kaneki put a hand to his chest, gasping dramatically. "Touka? Having fun? What a novel idea!"

She bared her teeth in a mock snarl. "Shut up, you sassy piece of shit."

"Make me." Kaneki teased, mussing her bangs. She made a noise somewhere between a growl and a sigh. Beneath her annoyance, he could sense her mirth. Their friendship was so easy. He was glad to have her. "Okay, I'll text Hide. Time and place?"

"We wouldn't want your human getting frostbite, so I was thinking tomorrow afternoon." Touka said dryly, going behind the counter to fetch her stuff. Kaneki rolled his eyes. "While we're there, I'll do some snooping for you to find out what he wants. Do the same with Hinami. I've gotten her a few things, but…"

"Got it. Thanks, Touka." He said warmly, and her lips turned up.

"Never say I don't do anything for you." She waved her hand airily, and he followed her to the glass doors. The grabbed their coats and went their separate ways.

oOo

 _Kaneki: Hey, Hide? I know it's late, but I wanna ask you something._

 _Hide: np babe_

 _Hide: decorating for Christmas takes 4ever_

 _Kaneki: True. It looks nice, though._

 _Hide: ill come by and see it tomorrow_

 _Hide: well I mean it's past midnight so not tomorrow but yknow_

 _Hide: cuz were goin on a date right?_

 _Kaneki: Keen observation, Investigator._

 _Hide: I ain't special class 4 nothin_

 _Hide: when and whurrr_

 _Kaneki: You are so tired it's adorable. Ice skating with Touka and Hinami. Meet me at Anteiku around 10. You're off for Christmas, right?_

 _Hide: u betcha_

 _Hide: ill be there AND be square my love_

 _Kaneki: Dear God. Get some rest, hon._

 _Hide: heyheyhey wait u ok?_

 _Hide: dont think i didn't notice ur emotions_

 _Hide: im keen remember i notice that shit_

 _Hide: m all over it like syrup on belgian waffles_

 _Kaneki: I'm fine, I promise. We figured it out. :)_

 _Hide: mmmmm kkkay if u need to call dont hesitate just cause im dead tired_

 _Kaneki: I won't. Thank you._

 _Hide: mer chirtsmas 3_

 _Kaneki: Good night, Hide. 3_

oOo

"...and Touka says she doesn't like him, but he's really cute even if he's not very polite!" Hinami chattered, telling Hide all about the feathered Anteiku mascot. She was holding his hand, which made Kaneki's heart melt. Touka was leading them up the sidewalk to the rink. She was trying to hide her smile, unwilling to let Hide see how much she actually liked him. Kaneki loved them all.

"Okay, so I'll rent the skates and we can get on the ice." Touka explained as they approached the little building where the equipment was stored. Hinami shuffled closer to Hide, and Kaneki fell back to join them.

"I've never skated before." she said meekly, and Hide smiled down at her. He knelt, and she gazed at him warily. "Maybe this wasn't the best idea."

"Hey Hinami, do you remember the first time you picked up a book?" He asked, and she squinted her eyes. She nodded slowly. The huge scarf around her neck made her look a lot smaller, but it struck Kaneki suddenly just how _young_ she was compared to them. Kaneki watched, chest filling up with some viscous emotion. "It was kinda hard, yeah? You had to start small…"

"I was better at reading books with pictures." She admitted, and Hide put a mittened hand on her shoulder.

"But now…" Hide made a large sweeping gesture with his other, and Hinami tracked the movement. "You're reading novels! In fact, I think you might read better than me. You just had to _learn_."

Hinami's eyes darted to Kaneki, and he grinned. Hide was perfect. Ingenious. Even when he was running on less than 6 hours of sleep. "Big brother taught me how to read well."

"And now, I can teach you how to skate! I'm very _dexterous_." Hide said proudly, standing with a flourish. Hinami smiled, still a little unsure.

"Trust me, Hinami. You're in very good hands." Kaneki swore, and Hide turned his thousand-watt grin to him. It felt like Kaneki was basking in the sunlight, and he was oddly warm, even though it was well below freezing. Touka reappeared, skates slung over her shoulder and a cocoa in each hand. They walked over to a bench area, and Touka handed out the skates. She pressed Hide's drink into his hands, then gave the other to Hinami.

"Appearances." She muttered at Hide's side-eye. "Every kid here has one."

Hide paused in tying his laces. He leaned over to Hinami. "Don't worry. I'll drink mine down some, and then you can pour yours into my cup instead of drinking it. I'd hate for you to get sick."

Touka ducked her head under the pretense of checking her blades. Kaneki thumped her on the back, and stood to wobble his way to the ice. Time to show off.

oOo

Hinami took to the ice like a duck to water. As a ghoul, she _did_ have a sort of physiological advantage, but Hide wasn't complaining. Kaneki skated circles around the both of them anyway, and it was still sweet to see his soulmate leading Hinami in things like figure eights and twirls. Touka stuck to the sides, content to watch. Kaneki joined her once in a while, keeping her a part of the activities. There were only a couple people out, most probably turned away by the weather. If Hide was uncomfortable, he sure didn't let it show.

"Hey you!" He shouted, and the few strangers looked in his direction as he waved Kaneki over. Kaneki shoved off of the wall, leaving Touka and Hinami behind as he glided over to his soulmate. "How's it going, handsome?"

"Good, you?" Kaneki lilted, meeting Hide in a spin. Hide actually _giggled_ , how cute, and bumped his head into Kaneki's shoulder.

"Great! I'm having fun, Hinami is a sweetheart, and I think Touka can stand me, so!" Hide chirped, draping his arms over Kaneki's shoulders.

Kaneki settled his hands on Hide's lower back, kneading circles into the puffy jacket that kept Hide warm. He himself only wore a thick sweater and a scarf. "Touka actually likes you, believe it or not."

They drifted together lazily. "Ooh, really?"

"Yeah." Kaneki leaned down to touch their noses together. "You know who else really likes you?"

Hide scrunched his eyebrows. "Hmm. Nishiki? I always knew he had a soft spot for me. Or, wait, I _know_ Shuu _hella_ likes me."

Kaneki chuckled, and pressed his lips to Hide's chastely. Alright, maybe he lingered a bit, but only because everything about Hide was _amazing. His smell, touch, taste._ They were ionic, charged, attracted. The only thing that Kaneki could think to compare it to was gravity. He was simply a planet in orbit around his Sun. He had _purpose_. He was not _worthless_. He wasn't a _monster_. He didn't have to be _strong_ all of the time. The love that shone in Hide's eyes when he pulled away told him so.

oOo

It was an hour after he dragged Hide home with him that he remembered that he was supposed to get Touka to ask him about gifts.

"Wait, wait!" Kaneki commanded, and Hide's hands froze on his thighs. He was just about to try and unzip Kaneki's fly with his teeth, which was really hot and all, but Kaneki _had to know because Christmas_ _ **was tomorrow.**_

"Red light?" Hide asked lightly, but Kaneki could hear that he was worried. He sat up, rubbing the back of his neck. "Well, didn't wanna get my lips caught anyway. That would've sucked, probably."

Kaneki reached for him at once, ignoring his just-barely painful hard-on. The mood was kind of dead now, anyway. _Crap, he sucked._ "No, nothing like that! This was a great idea, but I realized that… I never… asked you what you wanted for Christmas!"

Hide sat back on his heels, huffing out a laugh. The bedsprings creaked "Are you crazy? You don't need to get me anything for Christmas. And here I was, worried about you. Nerd."

Kaneki, now free of Hide's weight, wiggled so that he could sit up against the headboard. "Seriously? There isn't anything that you want?"

Hide's eyes gleamed. "There might be one thing, 'neki."

"And what is that?" Kaneki asked hopefully. He could run and grab it, wrap it- though it wouldn't be much of a surprise, it would be something. Hide's grin was borderline manic.

"All I want for Christmas…" Hide rocked towards Kaneki, settling his knees on either side of the half-ghoul's calves.

"Yes?" Kaneki probed, leaning forward. Hide kept the momentum going, and they ended up chest to chest.

Hide breathed onto Kaneki's lips. "Is…"

"Hide?"

" _Youuuuuuuu~_ " Hide sang, and Kaneki thunked his head on the wood behind him. Hide at least had the decency to muffle his peals of laughter against Kaneki's skin.

"Oh, you're lucky I love you…" Kaneki muttered, and Hide's breath caught. He raised his head, and Kaneki blushed at the look on his face.

"I love _you_." Hide whispered. Kaneki let himself relax. Maybe neither of them really _needed_ anything for Christmas.


	7. Chapter 7

"He's alive!" Seido exclaimed when Hide walked into work that morning. He stuck his tongue out at the man, and nodded at Akira. She eyed his arms curiously. He grinned, and flipped his left over. He was wearing short sleeves on purpose today. He had his suit jacket slung over his other arm, though, in case he needed to dress up. He watched his counter tick for a minute, and Akira made an approving noise.

"You took my advice." She said, and handed him a folder. "This is what you missed. No fieldwork, of course. I think our little showdown a few days ago scared the ghouls back into hiding for a while."

"Boring. But, a good thing. New intel?" Hide took the folder and flipped through the first couple documents. He sat at his desk, making sure everything was in order. He set his breifcase under it. Akira stayed with him.

"Anonymous tips. The usual. We're keeping our guard up. There's some heavy stuff going on, if what our snitch said is true." Akira pursed her lips, and shrugged.

"Hey, no worries. What's the worst that could happen? We're the Mado squad!" Hide reminded her, and she groaned.

"You're enthusiasm is as grating as ever, Hide. Get to work."

"Yes ma'am!" Hide saluted, and spun once in his chair. She shook her head as she walked away, and Seido flashed him a thumbs up.

"She was as frosty as ever with you gone, Hide. You're like, the office's personal Sun." He chuckled, and turned to his computer. "We're getting word of suspicious persons."

"Thanks, Seido. Send some rookies out. They could use the practice." Hide flicked his own computer to life, and read the updates. Nothing bad, just a creep hanging around. Most likely a ghoul, but no more dangerous than the average drunk. Eh, with a few more lethal appendages, but whatever.

"Mm." Seido paged in for some 3rd classes. "So, Hide."

He didn't like that tone. "What's up?"

"How was your date? Akira never lets me play hooky." Seido glanced at his arm pointedly.

"It was only one time. It's not like I'm a serial skipper. And the date was fine. So." Hide pulled out some papers from his catch-up folder.

"Just _fine_?" Hide knew what Seido was implying, and he sighted through his nose.

"We just had a coffee or two, Seido. Chill out."

"Oh, alright… Are you su-"

"Seido, if you don't get to work, I _will_ come over there." Akira warned from her own desk, on the other side of the room. A few of the other investigator snickered at the couple, Hide included.

"Yes, dear." Seido said meekly, and focused on his computer. Hide copied him, filling himself in on what he'd missed. Nothing major, but the tips they got _were_ a bit concerning. If things in 20 calmed down enough, they'd probably be transferred over to another problem Ward. And it looked like 13 was heating up for some reason. They worked in silence for a few hours, and Hide downed about four cups of coffee. He wondered what Kaneki would say. Wait. He had his _number_ , duh! He whipped out his phone, after making sure Akira wasn't looking.

 _Hide: heeeeeeeey_

He didn't have to wait long for a response.

 _Kaneki: Hey. Do you need something?_

 _Hide: just wanted to say hi :3_

 _Kaneki: Aren't you working?_

 _Hide: yes_

 _Kaneki: Then work. Be a productive human._

 _Hide: what're you up to ;-)_

 _Kaneki: Dear God. I'm reading._

 _Hide: what are you reading_

 _Kaneki: Takatsuki Sen. An old favorite of mine._

 _Hide: okay i just looked them up all they write is like horror_

 _Hide: really dark stuff_

 _Kaneki: You're surprised? :)_

 _Hide: :-/_

"Hideyoshi! Put your phone down! We have a reported Gourmet sighting!" Akira called across the floor, and Hide stood abruptly. He rushed for his briefcase and suit jacket, and sent out a few more texts before putting his phone away.

 _Hide: gotta go work stuff bye_

 _Kaneki: Work stuff? Be safe._

 _Hide: no biggie just gourmet ill be fine_

 _Kaneki: Gourmet? Hide. Be serious._

 _Kaneki: You're serious, aren't you._

 _Kaneki: And you've already left._

"Seido! You and your partner go west and see if you can intercept any movement that way! Hideyoshi and I will pursue directly. We'll meet in the middle! Amon, stay prepared to send in backup." Akira commanded as they drove out. Hide adjusted his comm to sit comfortably in his ear. Hide watched the city pass by in a blur. His partner drove like a madman. They screeched to a halt in a miraculous parallel park.

"No visual." Hide reported as they got out. "We'll check out the area. Gourmet could be long gone by now."

"Better safe than sorry." Akira said to him as they cautiously crept around. Hide's phone buzzed in his pocket. He probably shouldn't have told Kaneki who they were up against. They searched for any sign of the ghoul well past when the Sun sank below the horizon.

Seido's voice came through the radio static. "Still no sign here. We've done a couple sweeps, but I think it's getting too dark to work. You think the tip was a dud?"

"Who would joke like that?" Akira grumbled disgustedly. Hide sighed tiredly. It _was_ getting late,

but he had the feeling that if they kept looking, they'd find something. A sharp tug in his chest nearly bowled him over, and he leaned on a nearby wall for support. Kaneki?

"Akira. There's something here." He said, and shuddered as he got a heady rush of adrenaline.

"Seido! Houji! Get over here!" Akira yelled into her mic, then hurried over to Hide. "You okay?"

Hide nodded. "Just- a really bad feeling, all of a sudden."

They looked around, and Hide's heart froze. Up on the rooftops, he could see six figures, surrounding their location. Seido and Houji ran into view just in time for one to descend.

"It was a setup!" Hide gasped as the Gourmet stalked towards them. He had one hand up, in a clenched fist. Hide shoved himself off of the wall, and opened his briefcase. The ghoul's hand flared open, and the remaining five on the rooftops attacked. Houji and Seido weren't fast enough. Seido's partner took the brunt of the attack, getting slashed up by a pair of Bikaku ghouls. The remaining three came Hide's way, and it was all he could do to hold them off. He could hear Seido yelling something as he finally snapped into action, and then Akira cut down one of the ghouls accosting him. They quickly got back up, though, and then two were upon her. Hide, frustrated, switched his quinque to a dagger, and dove in after his partner. The one left dodged out of his way as he swung almost blindly. He had to protect Akira! One ghoul was wrapped painfully tight in her quinque, but the other was rapid-firing large torpedoes from its Ukaku kagune.

He distracted the Ukaku ghoul long enough for Akira to finish the other. She breathed a thank you, and lashed out at one trying to attack Hide from behind. The two ghouls were quickly taken down by the furious pair. That was all three. Hide whipped his head to the left, and saw Seido still struggling with one. Houji looked worse for wear. Uncharacteristic anger burning in his chest, Hide rushed the ghoul, saving Seido from a drastic hit. With his Bikaku quinque, he tied the ghoul in place, and Seido finished it off. By then, Hide's front was near drenched in blood, but he couldn't care less. Strangely, it was a familiar feeling.

Seido dropped to tend to Houji, and Akira nodded once to Gourmet, who was standing stock still, watching the proceedings. He nodded back, and Akira ran to deliver a quick blow to Gourmet. Hide was right behind her, planning to catch the ghoul off guard. Kagune hit him in the side, faster than lightening. Gourmet had completely ignored Akira, throwing Hide off course and tumbling through the air. He hit the ground hard, his arm scraping painfully across the asphalt. Suits weren't nearly padded enough for this job. His center of gravity shifted again as he was suddenly scooped up. He hissed as his arm was jostled, and he looked up.

"Sorry." Kaneki's voice was muffled by his mask, and he shifted Hide in his arms to make him more comfortable. Hide was carefully set upright again, and he noticed that he was a few dozen feet away from the Gourmet. Man, that guy packed a punch. Wait.

"Kaneki! I- I mean, uh-" Hide fumbled as he realized he could've just blown his soulmate's cover.

"Don't worry about it. Your friends are occupied." Kaneki muttered. His red pupil flicked behind Hide's shoulder. He followed suit, and saw Akira and Seido facing Gourmet together. Even with two Investigators on him, the ghoul was still holding up. Hide reluctantly turned away. Why was Kaneki here? He looked at his arm, and at the red coming through his sleeve. Ouch.

"I told him not to do this…" Kaneki said under his breath, and then his one eye was trained on Hide. "Are you hurt?"

"Eh." Hide made a so-so motion with his good hand. "Regardless, I have to go back. They need my help."

Hide spotted his quinque lying a little ways away, and went to retrieve it. He must have dropped in while he was in the air. Kaneki watched him warily. "You're bleeding."

"Yeah. Happens even to the best of us." Hide grunted, snapping his quinque back and forth a few times. He wasn't gonna get close to Gourmet again. Long range it was. Akira suddenly broke off from the fight, and pulled Seido back. Gourmet let them go. She looked over her shoulder and spotted him. He waved, and then, he realized what she must see.

Hide, torn up and bleeding, only a pace or two away from a ghoul.


	8. Chapter 8

She charged, and Hide didn't know what to do. He wasn't going to attack his partner, but he couldn't let Akira hurt his soulmate…! Her quinque whipped past him, and he darted left and spun so he could see Kaneki just barely avoid the thing. His eye locked on Hide, and he dodged another hit. Akira was next to Hide in an instant. The tension was extremely thick. Panicking, Hide grabbed Akira by the shoulders and turned her to him.

"Akira! I've got this! Go to Seido. He's unguarded, and his partner is down! You know how he is under pressure!" Hide said desperately, and he saw Kaneki flee out of the corner of his eye. Success!

"You're hurt! Are you insane, I'm not-" she broke off once she noticed Kaneki's disappearance. "Shit! That was Eyepatch! We weren't even sure that he was still _in_ this Ward."

"Well, let's take it one ghoul at a time. Seido, remember?" Hide huffed, relieved that his soulmate was safe. Akira clicked her tongue, but turned on a dime and refocused her attention. Seido was struggling against some lazy attacks. Seriously, it didn't even look like Gourmet was trying! Houji was propped up on a wall, out of the way, but he looked too pale to be alright. They needed to finish this, and fast. Hide easily fell into sync with his partner as she silently coordinated another attack. Hopefully, Gourmet would be divided enough between the three of them to go down easy.

With a flick of his wrist, his quinque shot ahead of them and wrapped around Gourmet's arm. He turned his head sharply, and pulled. Hide was sent tumbling forward, but that was what he was counting on. He retracted his quinque, and switched it over to the blade. The force was enough to propel him straight into an attack, and he drove his quinque deep into the ghoul's shoulder. He recoiled back, and Hide dropped and rolled. Akira came right behind, going for the legs, and Gourmet was sent to the ground. Seido, with a pained cry, shoved his spear-like quinque down through the ghoul's other shoulder, pinning him against the asphalt. Gourmet twitched a bit, then stilled. The three Investigators gulped in huge breaths of air.

They rushed over to Houji. Akira looked down at him and grimaced. "Let's get him into a car and to medical treatment."

Hide nodded and knelt. Seido did the same on the other side, and they both wound one arm around the weakened man. They had him up on his feet in seconds. "Thank… you…"

"Shh, Houji! Don't strain yourself!" Seido said, and then they began the trek to the closest car. They were so focused on their task, Hide didn't even notice that Gourmet was missing until it was too late. Houji and Seido were already in the car, but Hide turned to where they'd left the ghoul.

"Oh my God." Hide couldn't believe it. His and Seido's quinque laid there abandoned in a pool of blood.

Akira noticed, and then roughly turned him to the left. "Hide! Go get your quinque!"

He followed her eyes to see Gourmet locked in combat with another ghoul. Oh, God. Kaneki. He wove in and out of Gourmet's attacks, not a scratch on him. But the distance between them was decreasing. He obeyed Akira's order, then rushed in without thinking. He laid into Gourmet from behind with his quinque still in dagger form, getting closer than he probably should. Kaneki's eye widened, and he adjusted to intercept a few more of Gourmet's attacks. His kagune were flowing sinuously, pushing and pulling Kaneki around, and taking the brunt of the hits meant for Hide. Akira was shouting something to Seido.

"My, my. How interesting." The voice startled Hide, and he realized it came from behind Gourmet's mask. The ghoul turned to him, and then they were face to face. Gourmet blocked each of his jabs with his kagune, which was wrapped around his arm defensively. Hide stalled long enough for Kaneki to get right behind him. His kagune suddenly hardened, becoming rigid and sharp, and drove into Gourmet's back.

"Hide! Watch out!" Akira called out as her quinque caught Kaneki in the chest. He went flying, and Hide felt phantom-pain hit him as well. Gourmet dropped low as Akira continued her assault. Hide stepped back, barely dodging a cheap shot at his legs. He fell onto the ghoul and both of them fell in a heap. Akira spun away, slicing through the air with her quinque.

"Ugh. Well, I can see why Kaneki-kun believed you to be an ally. But I simply can't allow such a dangerous liability to threaten us! You understand." Gourmet said, squished under Hide's weight.

"No, I don't, actually." Hide quipped as he was shoved away. "If you were really Kaneki's friend, _you'd_ understand."

Was this the Nishiki that he'd heard about? "Hmm. Fair enough. You fight well, human."

Gourmet backed off, giving Hide space. "Thank you."

He nodded cordially. His mask was unnerving. "Might as well give you a chance. But rest assured, Hideyoshi-kun, if you even so much as glance the wrong way…"

Hide grimaced. A scream tore right through him, and he looked for the source. Akira.

And Kaneki.

He had her dangling by her ankles, much like Hide had been, but she was still swinging her quinque. Kaneki was struggling not to drop her as she delivered blow after blow. He'd been hit a few times, he could tell, but Akira was mostly unscathed. He was going easy on her. Finally, she tore right through the kagune that held her, and Kaneki recoiled back and dropped into a crouch. In no time at all, the kagune built itself back up. Akira surged forward, only to be forcefully knocked back by a hard swing of a tentacle. She rolled on the street a few times, and before she could rise, Kaneki had placed a foot on her back, pinning her down. Hide started running.

Kaneki leaned down low, probably leaning a painful amount of his weight onto Akira's spine. Four kagune spiked behind him, poised to strike. Hide launched himself at Kaneki, tackling him to the ground. Akira gasped and rose, shaking horribly. Hide sat on top of Kaneki. He waved Akira off when she attempted to assist.

"Go! Gourmet still needs to be taken care of!" Hide yelled, staring down at his soulmate. His eye was frighteningly blank. She left his field of vision. His only concern was Kaneki. "Are you okay?"

Kaneki blinked a few times, and shook his head a little. "You're… asking me if I'm okay? After I tried to kill your friend?"

Hide bit his lip. "You didn't mean it. Probably. Listen, Gourmet-"

"He's just trying to protect me. I tried to talk him out of this. I didn't ask him to fight, I swear." Kaneki said. A bit more emotion was coming back into his voice. Hide needed to keep him talking.

"I know. We chatted. I think he's gonna step off. I… don't wanna kill any of your friends. But, you can't kill any of mine. Deal?"

"...That sounds fair. Sorry. About this. I panicked. Tsukiyama said he'd 'take care of it', I had no idea he meant… and when you said he was sighted, I knew…" Kaneki muttered, and he finally relaxed. Hide breathed a sigh of relief.

"Yeah. You had every right to. And Akira can be frustrating to fight- she always kicks my ass in training. It's annoying. Don't worry about it!" Hide said, and leaned down. He heard Akira mouthing off to Go- uh, _Tsukiyama_ , so he knew he was in the clear. He pressed a kiss to the teeth of Kaneki's mask.

"Wow. That's…" Kaneki said. He sounded flustered. "Okay, you can let me up now, you're crushing my kagune."

"Oh, sorry!" He got up quickly, and helped Kaneki to his feet. They looked over to where their friends were still fighting. "Hey, he's going easy on her!"

"Huh. Hide, you certainly have charm. Tsukiyama wouldn't spare her if he didn't like you." Kaneki said, and whistled lowly. Tsukiyama froze, and looked over. Ghoul hearing. Cool. He knocked Akira back, and she sprawled out on the street, probably exhausted. He flounced over, and bowed a little at the waist.

"Are we ready to leave, Kaneki-kun?" He trilled, and a Kaneki nodded. " _Oui_."

Kaneki waved, and they ran off into some alleyway. He made sure to look in the other direction so he'd have deniability. After counting to three- enough time for them to get a safe distance away- he knelt down by Akira.

"I failed." she said when she saw him. "Gourmet should have killed me… did you run them off?"

"I… yeah. Gourmet was in pretty bad shape thanks to you, so Eyepatch and him scurried off. I didn't want to pursue when you and Houji were injured." Hide replied, scratching the back of his neck. Ah, he hated lying.

"You too. You're arm… Guess we're not as good as we thought." Akira said glumly, and slowly sat up.

"Nah. I mean, Seido is all bark and no bite, honestly. Houji was out the second they attacked. It was just us against two SS ghouls. In the dark. Could've been worse."

"Seido helped." She defended, then sighed. "Ugh, the paperwork for this… I can't believe we let them get away!"

"We got five of them. Small victories." Hide said cheerfully, and helped her to her feet.

"Yeah, but it's only the big victories people care about." Akira quipped, and they walked to the car. She adjusted her earpiece, which had probably been jostled a bunch. "Mado Akira reporting in. Issue a warning for the surrounding area. Two highly dangerous ghouls. Prepare medics for our return. Over."

Hide took the driver's seat and Akira went around to passenger. Houji was unconscious, leaning on Seido in the back. Seido shifted slightly, and stared hard at Akira. "We'll send someone to retrieve the other car."

"She's fine, Seido." Hide assured as he started the car. "And yeah, we'll call it in."

"You guys okay?" He asked, settling back into his seat. Houji muttered something.

"We'll live." Akira sighed. "Gourmet and Eyepatch got away."

"Eyepatch? Jesus… well, we can get them next time, right?" Seido swallowed, and looked out the window. Akira was silent. Something twisted in Hide's gut. He was relieved that Kaneki was safe, obviously, but… he couldn't help but feel a little guilty.


	9. Chapter 9

It had been _a week_ since their failure to subdue Kaneki and Tsukiyama. And Amon. Would not. Shut up. He saw it as a rare chance to rebuke Akira, which she did not take kindly to. As her partner, Hide was suffering through a big chunk of her fury. As her boyfriend, Seido suffered through the rest of it. And he wanted to defend her, Hide knew, but it wasn't in Seido's nature to mouth off to someone like Amon. Even if it was for his girlfriend. It was all Hide could do to hold his own tongue.

"I mean, honestly. There were _four_ of you." Amon said, leaning on Akira's desk. She worked on, trying to ignore him. Hide couldn't believe he was her soulmate. Who treated their soulmate that way? Who could _bear_ it? Amon had to be feeling something of Akira's emotions, right? "Looks like Team Mado could use some improvement."

Hide groaned and pulled out his phone. He needed a distraction before he punched Amon in the face.

 _Hide: oh my god send help one of my coworkers is an ass_

 _Kaneki: I know the feeling. Want me to come up there? ;)_

 _Hide: no the whole point is im trying not to hurt him. thx tho_

 _Kaneki: So what can I help you with? I_ am _working, but then again, so are you._

 _Hide: hhhhh im just sick of hearing him slam us cuz i let u go what was i supposed to do?_

 _Kaneki: Oh. I'm sorry. :(_

 _Hide: no at least this is better than u being dead. a little. hes just being so mean to akira and_

 _Hide: well i probably shouldnt tell u but imma tell u cuz we can keep secrets obvi_

 _Kaneki: If it's confidential…?_

 _Hide: nah its ok who are u gonna tell lol_

 _Hide: hes her soulmate but he like hates her how is that possible they fight all the time_

 _Kaneki: Soulmates?_

 _Hide: ye_

 _Kaneki: I'm going to tell you something. You can't freak out._

 _Hide: ye_

 _Kaneki: It is possible to hurt your soulmate. Easily._

 _Hide: ...should i be scared?_

 _Kaneki: No, no, I'm just trying to explain your friend's situation. I couldn't possibly, I already_

 _Kaneki: I'm already very attached to you._

 _Hide: ;-) -3-_

 _Kaneki: Anyway. We're not the first ghoul/human soulmate pair._

 _Hide: what we're not_

 _Kaneki: No. It's happened a few times since I've been a part of things here. I've only seen one other couple work out, though._

 _Hide: what happened to the others?_

 _Kaneki: The ghouls killed the humans._

 _Hide: o.o_

 _Kaneki: They were repulsed, or so they tell me. So, they... fixed the problem. I've looked into this, to see if we_

 _Kaneki: Uh. Well, we can be the exception._

"Hey, Hide! Who're you chatting with? You seem pretty engrossed over there." Seido said, loud enough to catch Akira's attention. Bastard. Akira glared at Hide, and he smiled sheepishly. She hated cellphone use during work.

"And can't even keep your partner in line." Amon tutted, and Akira stood abruptly. He stepped back, and she poked his chest.

"Fuck. Off." She spat, jabbing each word at Amon. He held up his hands in surrender. She stalked over to Hide. "This better be good."

Uh oh. If she saw their conversation, would she figure out that…? She reached out her hand, and Hide refused to give his phone up. She raised an eyebrow, and Seido whistled.

"What're you hiding?" She questioned, squinting suspiciously. Seido watched intently.

"I… I was just texting my soulmate. It's embarrassing." Hide admitted. Maybe she'd respect his privacy? And it wasn't a lie.

"Oh." Akira's features softened, and he sighed in relief.

Seido cackled, though, and he knew it wasn't over. "Texting your soulmate? And you won't let us see? Sounds awfully raunchy of you, Hide."

Hide flushed instantly. "Seido, oh my _God_. Get your head out of the gutter!"

Akira smacked him on the head. "Have some tact. I know Hide, he wouldn't do something like that. You wouldn't. Right?"

"Of course I wouldn't!" He affirmed, and his phone buzzed a few times. His eyes darted to the screen, and then back to Akira.

"Go on, answer it." She allowed, and Hide made sure to surreptitiously angle the screen away from the other two. Just in case.

 _Kaneki: Are you alright? I shouldn't have said anything, I'm so sorry. I won't hurt you, I promise._

 _Kaneki: Hide?_

 _Kaneki: Please._

 _Hide: hey no dont be upsetti just people bothering me about usin my phone its fine im fine_

 _Hide: start a new convo tho they wanna check my phone and yeah_

Seido swiped his phone just as he got the new text alert. Crisis averted. "Let's see. You mind?"

"Guess not." Hide shrugged, and Seido started typing. Oh, wait. Yes, yes he did mind.

 _Kaneki: So work, am I right?_

 _Hide: Wassup good lookin_

 _Hide: Shall we pick up where we left off? ;) ;) ;)_

 _Hide: i am so sorry that was seido_

 _Hide: hadbeidelw_

 _Hide: Yes hello no I am Hide_

 _Kaneki: ?_

 _Hide: they are taking my phone_

 _Hide: This is fair punishment. If you get to use your phone, we should get to use your phone. I'm Mado Akira._

 _Kaneki: Mado-san. Seido-san. Kaneki Ken. Charmed._

 _Kaneki: This is hilarious please continue._

 _Hide: dont encourage them whyyyyyy_

 _Hide: so You're Hide's soulmate huh. How is it?_

 _Kaneki: In what way? Hide is very wonderful._

 _Hide: you know, sex edkwnckcdelw la.s,slo_

 _Hide: KANEKI TURN UR OHINE OFF_

 _Hide: I apologize for Seido on his behalf. He'll pay for that later._

 _Kaneki: I'm dying. Wait till I tell everybody._

 _Hide: nnnooooOOO DONT TELL TOUKA_

 _Kaneki: I like your friends. :)_

 _Hide: i don't sdhakndk Sorry about earlier hey wait are you a dude swkadks Seido you just can't ask_

 _Kaneki: Yes? Hide, Nishiki is getting onto me for slacking. I suppose I could let_ my _friends use my phone, but it wouldn't be nearly as funny. I have to go. It was nice meeting you two._

 _Kaneki: Come by Saturday. You know the place._

 _Hide: wait bye kaneki ill see u sat_

 _Hide: aaaaarrrgh_

"I'm going to kill you guys and no one will find the bodies." Hide threatened as Seido held a hand over his howling laughter. Akira was grinning evilly.

"Hopefully that teaches you to stay on task." She wagged a finger at him, and chuckled. "You can save the chatting for Saturday and your time off."

Seido made a noise. "Wait, Hide! Your soulmate is a guy!"

Akira pulled a face. "So? How is that your business, Seido?"

"It's just, I always pictured Hide with some tall, foxy chick. No offense, Hide, but your high school stories made you sound like a womanizer." Seido explained, and Hide rolled his eyes.

"That's because you only ever asked about the ladies. I'm popular across the board." Hide shrugged. "It's a blessing and a curse."

Akira sighed. "Get back to work."

oOo

Hide was a lot less anxious about their second date. He pulled on jeans, some band t-shirt, and his favorite jacket. They'd only been together a week or two- Hide checked his counter ( _it had gotten a nifty little "days" column)_. 12:14:07:42. Hide felt so close to Kaneki, though, it might have as well been a year. He knew they still had a ways to go, but, they were doing well, all things considered. This time, Hide brought his headphones for the walk over. He got to Anteiku bright and early Saturday, head bopping to some track that he didn't remember buying. Hey, he could be pretty impulsive when it came to music.

He made his way to the same table he and Kaneki had occupied last time, and waited. He didn't have to wait long, though he didn't get who he expected. Touka appeared next to him, and he was mid-hello when she roughly grabbed him by the arm.

"Shut up and come with me." She ordered, and he fell silent as he was dragged through the coffee shop. A few patrons stared, but most kept to themselves. He was taken up a staircase off to the back of the cafe, and into a hallway lined with doors. He was tossed into one room unceremoniously, and the door shut behind him and Touka.

"Greetings, Hideyoshi-kun. Touka, thank you." An older man nodded at him, and he slowly took in his surroundings. The room wasn't very big, and it had just a table and a few comfy looking pieces of furniture. So it was pretty cramped to have 6 people, plus himself, all packed inside.

"H-hi." Hide waved at the group. Touka bumped him aside to stand with them, and Hide realized at once who they were. Kaneki's friends. All... ghouls. They were a pretty ragtag group, he had to admit, and they all had different expressions. One thing was very clear, though. This was very awkward.

The old man clapped once. "Alright. Where are our manners? I am Yoshimura, the manager of Anteiku. Kaneki is very important to all of us, so we wanted to introduce ourselves."

Hide smiled a little. "Nice to meet you. Kaneki speaks very highly of you." And it was true. He'd heard that the man was very kindhearted, had taken Kaneki under his wing. The manager smiled back, and nodded to a surly man in glasses.

"Suppose I'm up next. Nishiki Nishio. I'm behind you and Kaneki, because I'm a lot of things, but not a hypocrite. I also have a human soulmate. It did not start well for us. Hopefully, Kaneki won't try and eat you." Hide's smile might have been a little forced. So this was Nishiki. And his soulmate was human?

"Good to know." Hide said, and Touka piped up.

"Just so you know, I'm completely against you being here. Kaneki is… he's been through a lot, the last thing he needs in his life is more complications."

"I understand that. I'll do my best to be good for him. You probably know better than me, though." Hide said, and she looked honestly surprised. What was he gonna do, argue with her?

"We'll be here if you have any questions, Hideyoshi-kun. This is probably difficult for you as well." Yoshimura amended, and Touka huffed. She didn't object though. God, he hoped he was making a good first impression.

"Well, I for one, am very pleased with Hide. I _can_ call you Hide, yes?" A man with purple hair and a gaudy suit interjected. That voice…

"Tsukiyama? I- yes. Um, Hide is fine." Hide stuttered, utterly surprised. Tsukiyama's grin widened.

"Then you can call me Shuu. Surprised at my devilish handsomeness?" He gestured to himself with a flourish, and Hide felt his lips twitch.

"Oh, definitely. Love the hair. Where do you get it dyed? I've been looking for a reliable place, cause home dye isn't cutting it." Hide asked, and Shuu tutted. Everyone watched with varying degrees of interest and confusion. Yoshimura looked impressed.

"Oh, that won't do. I'll take you out and show you sometime! My treat!" Shuu promised.

"Looking forward to it." Hide chirped, and a girl who couldn't be older than 15 stepped up.

"You're really nice! I haven't seen big brother this happy in a long time!" She said, and then he was roped into a hug. He hesitantly patted her back as she nuzzled her face into his chest. She drew back suddenly. "Oh. You _smell_ nice, too."

Hide, shaking off his unease, winked at her. "Sorry. I'm off the menu."

She giggled. "No, _I'm_ sorry! My name is Hinami."

"But I thought you just said you were sorry?" He joked, and she outright laughed. She was really adorable. A few other people chuckled as well, and Hide's spirit lifted. A huge man with a sorta gangster air about him waved. Hinami went to Touka's side, and whispered something to her. Touka scoffed. Hide ignored her and waved back to the big guy. "Hey."

"We really appreciate what you're doing." He said sincerely, and Hide felt his cheeks heat up. "Kaneki seems hopeful now. And… you're being really cool about all of… this."

He swept his hand across the room, referring to the species difference. Hide shrugged. "Heh. No problem. I like you guys so far."

Rapid footsteps in the hallway set all of them on alert, but Hide's built in Kaneki-sensor started pulling at his chest, and he relaxed. Kaneki knocked on the door urgently. With a nod from Yoshimura, Hide went and unlocked it for him. In a heartbeat, he was in Kaneki's arms. He felt the motion of Kaneki's heavy breathing. How fast did he run up here?

"Wassup, Kaneki?" He said, and his soulmate released him.

"I don't- are you okay?" He asked, and Hide nodded, bright smile in place.

"I like your friends. They haven't tried to kill me yet, so I think I made a good impression." Hide said, and Kaneki's eyes widened. "Poorly timed joke. Whoops"

"Kaneki-kun, we would never have touched him." Yoshimura assured, and Kaneki visibly untensed. "We just wanted to talk to him. He's a very nice young man."

Hide preened, and Kaneki finally smiled a little. "Okay. Okay. so, you've met everyone, yeah?"

"Yeah. Well, I'd already met Shuu and Touka-chan, and Nishiki definitely lived up to my expectations." Kaneki raised his eyebrows at _Shuu_ , and then they heard a scoff.

"What lies have you been telling, Kaneki? Hideyoshi, I can assure you I am a perfectly perfect person. Unless Touka's been spreading rumors again." Nishiki protested, and Touka glared at him.

"Hey, lay off, stupid." She was small, but Hide had seen her fight before. There was an obvious threat behind her words. Nishiki shrugged her off, though. Kaneki took his hand.

"Come on. We have a date to get to. Hopefully with no more interruptions!" He said over his shoulder as he led Hide down the hallway. Kaneki sighed. "Those people…"

"Hey. They really care about you, you know?" Hide bumped his shoulder, and Kaneki nodded curtly. They made it to their table, and a waiter that Hide didn't know came and took their order.

"Well. I sort of met your friends, so we're even now." Kaneki said, leaning back in his chair. Hide snorted.

"Oh, man. Don't remind me."

"Seido sounds as fun as you described him." Kaneki smirked, and Hide groaned.

"Not fair. I like your friends… you should probably give me their code-names, so I can keep an ear out for them." Hide said quietly. He wondered what Akira would say. She'd probably have him drawn and quartered.

"Ah. Alright. Well, you know who Touka and Tsukiyama are already. Banjou and Hinami don't go out, as far as I know. Nishiki is the Serpent. Yoshimura is… well, you don't have to worry about him." Kaneki listed, ticking them off on his fingers. Hide nodded. Hmm.

"What's Yoshimura-san's deal, anyway?" He asked, and Kaneki blinked.

"Oh. Well, he has his reasons, I'm sure, but… he knows that the world is messed up, you know? Everyone, even ghouls, has the capacity for good and bad. This cafe exists for ghouls who can't or won't fight. They choose peace. Of course, we have our moments. But mostly, we just want to… live." Kaneki explained, and Hide pursed his lips. Kaneki held his hand out on the tabletop, and Hide instantly took it. His hands were cold.

"I'll help in any way I can." Hide promised, and Kaneki closed his eyes.

"Oh, Hide. You already are."


	10. Chapter 10

Hide scrolled through his feed absentmindedly. It was a Saturday, unofficial date day (at least, Hide had been calling it that, because he and Kaneki had met at Anteiku no less than six times, six Saturdays in a row, excluding their first two dates). But. The seventh, Kaneki had suddenly been burdened with Nishiki's shift. He probably just didn't want to get out of bed for work that early in the mornings. Touka was sick of doing _that damn Nishiki's_ work, so it had fallen to Kaneki. Plus side, Hide got to see what Kaneki had looked like in uniform. Downside. He was totally bored.

The 20th Ward branch was due for some transfers, so Akira had allowed him weekends off to prepare for the extra Investigators. The empty slots would be filled by the incoming employees, and the Mado Squad would hopefully be given more breaks. Hide wanted to spend all of his free time fawning over his soulmate, but that was kind of hard when he was furiously juggling five tables' worth of food and drink orders. Kaneki breezed by with a full tray, sending an apologetic look to Hide. Before he could react, Kaneki was gone again. Uuuugh. His phone buzzed.

 _Akira: You're missing such a fun day_

 _Hide: ehehswkah kaneki is workin hardcore i almost wish i was there. what r u doing?_

 _Akira: Paperwork for the transfers. Some of them are so interesting. And hilarious. Seido keeps making inappropriate jokes._

 _Akira: I'll ask him to text you some. I doubt I could deliver them with the same finesse._

 _Hide: bet its hard keepin a straight face, frosty._

 _Hide: why dont u just tell him u love his jokes?_

 _Akira: Because. I_ do _have a reputation._

 _Hide: bah whatever_

 _Hide: i think nishiki finally showed up for his shift gtg_

 _Akira: Stay out of trouble._

 _Hide: ;-)_

 _Akira: Ugh, I hate it when they have noses._

 _Hide: :-D_

"Who're you smiling at?" Kaneki asked, and Hide looked up. He was leaning against the table, still in uniform, but he had his bag with his change of close in it slung over his shoulder.

"Akira." He answered, and Kaneki ruffled his hair. Shuu had gone with him to get it touched up, and he had to admit he liked the place. It _was_ a bit too _high-class_ , but he wouldn't expect anything less from Shuu.

"You're annoying her, aren't you?" He teased, and Hide grinned.

"It _is_ my favorite pastime." Kaneki adjusted his bag strap, and stood up straight.

"Nishiki finally decided to come in, so I'm going to go change, and then…" Kaneki trailed off, and he chuckled. "Well, maybe we could do something else besides drink unhealthy amounts of coffee."

"Ooh. _Variety._ " Hide smiled up at Kaneki. He still got butterflies in his stomach when Kaneki looked at him like… like he was special. Like he was loved. The ghoul went off to the back rooms, and Hide slipped his phone back into his jacket pocket. He stood, and stretched, wincing as his back popped. Oh, he'd been there for a while.

"Hey, you. Where's Kaneki?" Nishiki swept the door, immediately seeking Hide out.

"Oh, he just went back to change. Where have you been?" Hide took in his disheveled appearance. Wow, he looked like a mess.

"Don't give me that tone. And it's none of your business." Nishiki snapped. "I'm just going to apologize to Kaneki and work. That's the end of it."

"Alright, alright. I was just asking." Hide said soothingly. Then, he _really_ looked at the sweater

that the ghoul was wearing. It was a little small… and pink. "Is… is that a ladies' sweater?"

Nishiki flushed, and bared his teeth. "Shut up, okay?"

The puzzle pieces clicked, and Hide blanched. "Oh, _shit,_ dude. You were…?"

"Listen, I don't need Touka teasing me about my insatiable sex drive, so just quit while you're ahead." Nishiki almost begged, and visibly relaxed when Kaneki came into view. Hide _felt_ him before he saw him.

"Good afternoon. Busy morning?" Seemed like Kaneki was already in on it. Hide… didn't know how he felt.

"Oh, my God. Kaneki. I'm sorry, okay? There." Nishiki hissed, and he shoved past the pair. "It was Kimi's fault, for the record."

Kaneki laughed. "I'm sure." He noticed Hide's expression. "This happens a lot. Nishiki and Kimi are very… _physical_. You don't ever want to be in an enclosed space with them."

"I just… never…" Hide felt as red as a tomato. How should he say this?

Kaneki paused. Looked like he didn't have to. "You didn't think… a human and a ghoul…?" Hide shook his head. Ah, he was so embarrassed! Kaneki looked thoughtful. Then, he shrugged.

"Well, don't worry about it, okay?" Kaneki reassured him with a smile. He took his hand, and they exited the coffee shop. Hide was still kinda mortified. He'd kinda sworn off sex for the sake of his partner, but now that he knew that they _could_ … He glanced to to left. Kaneki was looking at his phone for the time. He quickly looked away. _Hhhh_.

"It's past noon. Have you eaten?" Kaneki asked, and glanced his way. Hide shook his head. He didn't trust his voice. "Well, there's a little restaurant down the street, they're supposed to have pretty good burgers. But I doubt they could rival Big Girl's…"

Kaneki quirked an eyebrow. Hide smiled shakily and nodded. "Alright, then."

They went across the street, and made a couple turns. Kaneki never dropped his hand. Was Hide sweaty? Could he tell what he was thinking? He could definitely feel his nerves, because Hide was getting claiming waves over their bond. How embarrassing…

Hide didn't miss the way Kaneki's nose crinkled when they entered the small restaurant. "You can just drop me off. Go to a bookstore or something." It always made Hide uncomfortable when Kaneki did this like this. He didn't like putting his soulmate in these situations. Plus, he thought he could use some air. Was it hot in here? Kaneki told a small girl that they needed at table for two, and she led the way with a forced smile. She probably hated her job.

"I don't mind. It's not as bad if I focus on you, which I do anyway." Kaneki whispered, pressing a quick kiss to his cheek. The waitress' smile got a little more genuine, and she pulled out a pen and paper.

"Drinks?" She she asked, peppy voice obviously fake.

"A coke and a water, please." Kaneki answered, dazzling her with a smile. Hide taught him that one. She recorded it, and scuttled off, promising to be back. But she seemed a bit happier for some reason. Hide found himself relaxing a bit more, too. Not only was Kaneki constantly comforting him, he was beginning to realize how hungry he was. He took a deep breath, and decided to forget about the issue for right then. They would cross that bridge when they came to it. He squeezed Kaneki's hand lightly.

"So, what's the plan, Stan?" Hide batted his eyes at Kaneki, hoping to alleviate the mood that he ruined. Kaneki snorted.

"Dork. I was thinking. I live nearby, and we haven't been over to each other's places yet. Which is ridiculous, because we've been dating for two months. And I bought loads of food for you. We could watch a movie or something, and then you can laugh at me while I cook dinner." Kaneki suggested it airily, but there was obvious tension in his words. He was asking him on a home cooked dinner date? With cuddling on the couch implied? Romantic, and textbook.

"Dude, how could I turn that down?" Hide exclaimed, and the waitress came back. She had three cups. Huh? She set the pop in front of Hide, and then the water and… and a cup of coffee in front of Kaneki.

She winked. "It's on the house."

oOo

Kaneki unlocked the door and stepped inside, Hide quickly following. It was getting colder, and even the short walk over had numbed his nose and fingers. Kaneki went around flicking on lights and such. Hide toed off his shoes and padded behind him, taking in the plain apartment. There wasn't much to it, just a table here, a chair there. The TV looked old, but there was a relatively newer DVD player sitting on top of it. All in all, it reflected Kaneki. Neat, understated. Yet oddly endearing. Hide already felt right at home, and he didn't know if it was a soulmate thing or a _Hide_ thing. They went into the kitchen, and Hide raised his eyebrows at the snack foods lining the cabinets.

"I didn't know what to get you, so I just… guessed." Kaneki explained, and Hide snooped around. Chips, cookies, canned stuff. He could live here!

He could live here.

Ehem. He gathered up a bunch of movie stuff, and opened a box of microwave popcorn. Kaneki had all the regular kitchen appliances, so he popped it and put in it a bowl. Kaneki watched this all with an air of amusement.

"It looks like you're preparing for a nuclear fallout. The food's not going anywhere, Hide." Kaneki reminded him dryly, and Hide stuck his tongue out.

"Hey, you want a movie night, I get popcorn. And Doritos. And some candy. Don't judge." Hide said. "You have any drinks?"

Kaneki nodded to the fridge. "Top shelf. I'm going to go get my movies. You can wait on the couch if you want."

Hide went and set the rest of his stash down on a little end table in the living room before going back for soda. He opened the fridge- a few boxes of his favorite pop were stocked on the top, as promised. There were also bottles of juice, a huge thing of chocolate milk ( _yes_ ), eggs, butter, stuff like that. Wow. He had to pay Kaneki back for all this stuff. His eyes travelled lower, to the very bottom, where a couple of carefully wrapped packages were stacked. What were those, cold cuts? Maybe stuff for dinner- steak was romantic, though he was more of a spaghetti guy.

He grabbed two cans of cola, and walked back to the couch. He set them with the rest of his snacks. Perfect. Kaneki came back soon after with an armful of DVD cases. They sorted through them until they narrowed it down to one each, then rock-paper-scissored. They tied about six times before Kaneki just gave in. Some sort of cheesy romantic comedy that was still in its clear wrap. And had gotten, like, a 36% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Kaneki sighed tiredly as he went to put it in.

oOo

"I shouldn't have let you pick." Kaneki groaned 30 minutes in, wincing at the horrible, stale acting. Hide was loving it. Kaneki's commentary made it even better. "Look at her face! And the props, oh my God."

oOo

Hide let Kaneki pick the next one, something about a secret society and a government conspiracy. Huh, he hadn't pinned Kaneki for that sort of thing. He'd finished his popcorn and one bag of candy by the movie's climactic scene. He was too full to even try the chips. Kaneki scooted closer to him after he'd put all the food stuff up.

oOo

Hide took the next one, a sort of turn based system taking form. One about ghosts that he'd seen a while back, though he doubted the age-old trick of scaring your date into hardcore snuggling would work on his _ghoul_ soulmate.

Hide ended up being the one hiding his face in Kaneki's chest.

oOo

Kaneki made another surprising choice, a Disney movie. He wondered if he was doing it on purpose? Why did Kaneki even _have_ a Disney movie…?

oOo

When Hide's stomach growled, Kaneki finally turned the DVD player off. "I don't know how you can even be hungry after eating all that junk food." He muttered with a note of disgust. "But I did promise you dinner, so."

They were wrapped up in each other on the couch, Kaneki's arm around Hide, legs tangled. "I'm too comfortable."

"Food or cuddles, your choice. I _do_ know humans need to eat about three times a day, though." Kaneki said, dropping a kiss on Hide's head. He was not kidding, Kaneki's couch was really soft, and Kaneki was _best cuddler_. This felt awfully domestic. Hide was in heaven.

"Don't wanna." Hide turned his head in, burrowing it into Kaneki's shoulder. Kaneki's laughter shook him gently.

"Alright, alright." Kaneki acceded, and Hide hummed. He lifted his head a bit, and nosed at Kaneki's neck. Oh God what was he doing. Kaneki stiffened, but then, tilted his head a bit to the side. Invitation. Hide had a choice to make. Sure, they had kissed before ( _a lot_ ), but this was next level. Making out on a couch? Hide steeled his nerves, and opened his mouth.

Kaneki gasped as he drew his teeth along one side of his neck. Hide's stomach jolted. The ghoul's hands found their way into his hair as Hide pressed light kisses against his throat. The hold on his hair tightened. Kaneki pulled him up to crash their lips together. His mouth parted on Hide's, moved with almost bruising urgency, and he felt the probing touch of what he realized was his soulmate's tongue. After that first instinctive flinch, he opened to it, swiping back with his own tongue, and that deep kiss went on and on and on.

 _So intense_ , Hide thought, and then he was clambering into Kaneki's lap, keeping their lips locked desperately, needing more contact. He didn't quite settle on his soulmate's hips, unwilling to heat things up that much just yet, but it was close enough to draw a whine from Kaneki. He hadn't felt desire this strong ever in his life, and he wondered if it had to do with their bond, pulling them into each other at an almost atomic level. Hide finally drew back, his need for air overwhelming his need for Kaneki.

"Well that escalated quickly." Kaneki said, obviously winded. His face was flushed and his eyes were half-lidded, and Hide wanted nothing more than to escalate things even more with that tone of voice Kaneki was using. "Guess you're not _that_ hungry, huh?"

"Are _you_?" Hide asked, just to be safe, and Kaneki winced a bit. Sensitive subject, but necessary. He mutely shook his head, though, and Hide breathed a sigh of relief. He _really_ didn't want to stop. The awkward conversation from earlier today came to mind, and he wondered if he would take it that far. Nah, best to play it safe for now…

Hide took the initiative, returning his mouth to Kaneki's, gentler but with that same undercurrent of desperation. Their lips molded together almost perfectly, and a twinge of desire spiked through him again, when Kaneki tentatively nibbled at his lower lip. Hide thought for a second how messed up that was, a _Ghoul Investigator_ getting off to a ghoul biting him, but hey. He wondered how much he could get away with before it became too much to handle. He suddenly wanted Kaneki's mouth all sorts of places, teething and sucking, and _woah there buddy_. Too late. His pants were _too tight_ , and he had to fight the temptation to grind down into Kaneki's lap. Were they there yet? Was there some sort of guide for this stuff...?

Kaneki slowly and sinfully drew his hands down Hide's back, leaving a blazing trail of fire, until he reached his hips. Looked like Kaneki knew what he wanted. He graciously pulled away, giving Hide time to breathe. And time to opt out, if he wanted. They were getting each other's desires on top of their own, though, so why even bother to ask? He was _horny_ , dammit, and ever since he'd learned that this was a possibility, he couldn't get it off of his mind. Who would want to stop, when they were _this close_? He pressed his forehead to Kaneki's, and felt a rush of pure adoration. W- _o_ -w. He couldn't blame Nishiki and Kimi in the least.

" _Aaah_." Kaneki pulled Hide's hips once- hard against hard- he leaned into that friction, found his own rhythm, hesitant but growing stronger, more sure. His arms wrapped tightly around Kaneki, hands winding into his white hair. Hide arched back, unable to help the whine that slipped from his lips. Kaneki was suddenly on his throat, in his mind, under his skin, knowing exactly how much pressure to apply to get Hide to fall apart. It was quick- Kaneki's grip tensed further, like steel bands locking them together. Even when he was obviously holding back, Kaneki was still so much stronger than him, and he realized at once just how _breakable_ he was to the ghoul, and that made this moment all the more intense for Hide. He tilted his head back, welcoming the surging peak with a groan of relief as it rushed at him, a moment of piercing clarity- Kaneki locked his teeth onto his shoulder, pain mixed with pleasure, shocking him forward- he fell onto Kaneki's chest.

"That- _hhah_ \- was…" Hide mumbled as he rose and fell with Kaneki's heavy breathing. Hide rolled his shoulders, winced as a couple of places on his neck burned- hickeys? Oh God, Seido would have a field day- and sat up very slowly. He rolled off of Kaneki's lap, painfully aware of the gross situation in his pants. "Kaneki?"

Kaneki's eyes were unfocused, and he was staring off into the distance. Was he _that_ blissed out, or was there something wrong? An icy feeling punctured his bubble of afterglow. "Kaneki!"

His head turned sharply, and his eyes came back to life. "Huh?"

"You okay? You just…" Hide waved a hand and his general direction. Kaneki frowned.

"I'm fine." His eyes darted to Hide's neck. "Oh my God, did I hurt you?"

Hide put a hand to where Kaneki's eyes were, and felt an uncomfortable twinge. "Nah, man. Just hickeys, right?"

"Hide, there are teeth impressions on your shoulder." Kaneki said darkly, and Hide knew that he was reprimanding himself.

"Well, maybe I like it a bit rough." Hide winked, and Kaneki pursed his lips.

"Still. Don't make excuses for me. I'll… uh, go get us…" Kaneki said, trailing off as he left the living room. Hide groaned. Aw, man. If Kaneki thought that he'd fucked up, then they might not do this. Ever. Normally, he wouldn't mind. Preferences were preferences, and sometimes sex didn't quite do it for people. Maybe it was a biological thing. Whatever the reason, there was always a choice. Hide would respect Kaneki, but his body, his mind, his _soul,_ yearned to feel that connection again. He almost felt like they were one person, bound by desire and… and love. Ugh, he sounded just like that crappy rom-com.

"Hide! C'mere!" Kaneki called, and he instantly obeyed. If it involved a new pair of pants, he was down. He followed his Kaneki-sensor, down a hall to the left. He entered a small bedroom, where Kaneki was in a set of plain pajamas. He smiled at Hide, and then, it faltered. "Sorry, about… I mean, I can try to be gentler, but I don't… and I don't want to let you down, you know?"

Kaneki tossed him a pair of sweatpants and a big shirt. "Kaneki, I wasn't disappointed. Like, at all. And, I wasn't kidding. About the… liking it rough. I mean, I understand you have, like, super strength and stuff, but I can take it. I mean, I've been batted around by ghouls _trying_ to hurt me for so long, what's a little pain on purpose?"

Kaneki flushed, but he seemed relieved. "Okay. I'll try not to beat myself up about it. Still, if I ever go too far-"

"Red means stop. Yellow means slow down. Green means it's okay." Hide finished. Everyone had to have safe words. Kaneki nodded, fidgeting a bit.

"So, with, uh, that in mind… it's awfully late. Would you like to stay over?" Kaneki questioned, and Hide's smile turned impish.

"Bro. _Bro_."

"Is that a yes or a no?" Kaneki sounded just a little exasperated. Hide just winked again and then followed his senses to the bathroom. Cool, Kaneki's muscle memory. He changed quickly, and paused to look at himself in the mirror. His neck area _was_ pretty ghastly, but seeing it make desire burn white hot in his stomach again. Mmhhm. Okay, okay. Food first, sex later. Or maybe… his stomach growled, interrupting that thought. No, eating had to come first, unfortunately.

But, hey. They had all night.


	11. Chapter 11

"I won't be responsible for my actions if you don't put a sock in it, Takizawa." Hide threatened as the other Investigator nearly died of laughter. Akira was late this morning, so she wasn't here to temper Seido's complete lack of tact. And as soon as Hide had walked in the office door, Seido's ' _be a little shit_ ' sixth sense had kicked in.

"But, Hide! How could I possibly stop myself- you have marks literally all over you!" Seido wheezed, "I'm, hah, just happy for you. Congratulations."

"Seido…" Hide warned, as the other caught his breath.

"So, how was it? Which one of you-"

"Oh my _God_. I'm telling on you." Hide pulled out his phone. Where was Akira?

 _Hide: akira pls get here soon seido is bullying me_

 _Akira: What now?_

 _Hide: i spent the night at kaneki's_

 _Akira: Congrats. :)_

 _Akira: But it's still none of his business._

 _Akira: Tell him I'll be there in thirty._

Hide grinned triumphantly. Seido shut up immediately, going back to his work with a sigh. Finally. He checked over the reports from Saturday, and read the files on the transfers. Nothing much out of the ordinary happened. The 20th Ward was seeing a huge decline in ghoul activity lately. Even though the ghoul population was sky high. Hmm. How did they eat without the CCG noticing? A bunch of human disappearances would definitely be on their radar, and the ghouls at Anteiku alone would need… Ah, well, he'd ask Kaneki. He didn't like to Investigate his soulmate, but he had to know for curiosity's sake. A shiver ran through him. If he closed his eyes and focused, he could smell coffee. Kaneki was thinking of him.

Last night… Last night had definitely strengthened the bond. It wasn't not like they went all the way, but they got quite a bit done, if you asked Hide. There would be plenty of time for all that stuff, so Hide didn't mind holding off. Besides, Kaneki had gotten pretty wild. It was surprising, when someone so usually reserved loosened up a bit. Heh. At one point, Kaneki had shut his eyes and kept them closed, because he said his kakugan had activated. Which just sent Hide's mind whirling. If his kakugan could go off, could his kagune? Heh… _heh_ … Hide was pretty beat up, but it had only made it better for him, and each mark reminded Hide that he had Kaneki. It _was_ scary, just a little, because Kaneki could quite literally kill him, but. Kaneki would never hurt Hide. Well, besides when he asked for it.

Seido could never know about Hide's preferences in bed. _Ever_.

The familiar click of Akira's heels alerted him, and he tried to look productive as she came into view. Seido hunched down further at his desk, and she stopped behind him.

Her hands smoothed over his shoulders. "I hear you were being a bother?"

Hide snorted at Seido's expression. "Don't make a bed you can't lie in, buddy."

Seido glared. "You're the one that told her! I can't believe you would betray me!" He put a hand to his chest. " _Shot through the heart_ …"

"Oh, thank God, I thought he was going to make a sex joke, there." Akira intoned, and Seido widened his eyes. Missed opportunity. "And _you_ ," Her grip tightened, and Seido flinched. "Need to stop. We're all friends. We should respect each other. Some things are just private, okay?"

Seido nodded, and she released his shoulders. She went to her own desk, and Hide glanced back at his computer screen. He had his portion of the files from yesterday to complete. Just busy work.

 _We're all friends_.

 _I can't believe you would betray me!_

Hide felt a painful twinge. He was a traitor- he'd come to terms with that two months ago. Akira was too zealous in her pursuit of ghouls to possibly understand, and Seido was extremely loyal, especially to this organization. But he loved his friends. If he _could_ make them a part of his life, if they could handle his secrets, he would tell them in a heartbeat. He had to be perfectly sure, though, before he went and put all of his other friends in danger. Ugh, why was his life so complicated?

oOo

"...and it's not like I don't love them, I do, but it's just scary to know that they would literally kill you if they had the chance." Hide had his phone balanced between his shoulder and his ear as he boiled his late-night dinner. It sucked to get stuck in a meeting until ungodly hours of the night, but it helped when your soulmate ran on mostly caffeinated beverages. He felt like he was running on coffee fumes, which he kind of was. Kaneki's second hand coffee buzz was the only thing keeping him up.

"Hmm. I could only imagine having to keep a secret like this from someone dear to me. All of my friends… are ghouls…. so. I mean, your friends don't even remotely share the same mindset as us. They don't believe that ghouls can be reasoned with, that the only way to achieve peace is through extermination." Kaneki said, and Hide faintly heard the sound of a page turning.

"That's not their fault, though. One, they were trained to think that way, and two, they've only ever had bad experiences with ghouls." Hide countered, grabbing a bowl from his dish cabinet.

"I'm not blaming your friends. People naturally fear what they don't understand- it's survival instinct." Kaneki acquiesced.

Hide sighed. "If they _could_ understand, then, and had a good time with a ghoul… God, it's like asking for the impossible. So, what would happen if they found out? Would we have to kill them, or something?" Hide was only joking, but Kaneki was silent. "Kaneki?"

"Just… I doubt the others would allow any more people to know about us, for one. And then there's the fact that Akira has... _personal_ grudges against ghouls. It just doesn't seem like a possibility, Hide. I'm sorry." Kaneki's voice burned with regret.

"Hey, how is this your fault? You can't help that you're a ghoul any more than I can help that I'm human. We knew there'd be trouble." Hide yawned, and spooned his meal over into the bowl. He'd eat it and then crash, hopefully. "Just… get some rest, don't worry about it."

There was a pause. "I'm going to be lonely, tonight."

Hide's heart clenched. Last night, he leaned that Kaneki had awful nightmares. It made him a little anxious and a lot upset to know that he'd had to deal with them alone for the majority of the time. They had been sleeping soundly (Kaneki's bed was plain, but super comfortable, plus, he was _very_ worn out) when Hide felt the other side of the bed shift. He thought nothing of it, until he'd heard the sobs. They were muffled, like Kaneki was trying to keep quiet for Hide's sake, and then he'd felt the most overwhelming rush of feelings he'd ever gotten from his soulmate. And that wouldn't do.

He'd clambered out from under the blankets, into the cold air, as fast as he could, and found Kaneki in the corner, hunched over and crying. He'd begged Hide to stay back, and Hide knew that he was in a dark place, but he couldn't just stand idly by while his soulmate relived whatever horror he'd experienced. He was more scared for Kaneki than he was for his own well being anyway. Kneeling there on the floor with him, he'd murmured to Kaneki until his sobs turned to sniffles, and his breathing evened back out. The ghoul had then thrown himself into Hide's arms, uttering concerning things like, " _you're alive_ ", " _this is real_ ", and even a few numbers, " _993, 986, 979…_ "

So Hide obviously felt like gunning it over to Kaneki's place as fast as public transportation could take him. "I know. If you need to, you can call me. I promise I'll pick up."

"You're too good to me." Kaneki sighed, and he closed his book with a _thump_. Hide's chest welled up with emotion. "Monday shifts at Anteiku are awful, though, so I'll try and sleep. Good night."

"Night." Hide said, and hung up so that he could eat. He barely tasted what he had cooked. All he could think about was how much he loved Kaneki Ken.

oOo

"So, you're asking me what I would do, if I had a friend for years, and they turned out to be a ghoul?" Seido said skeptically, and Hide nodded. It was a Friday, and Hide had suffered through most of the week burning with the question. He hadn't mentioned it again to Kaneki, who had gotten into the habit of calling him every night before they went to bed. They always talked about their days, and anything on their minds. But. After Kaneki's initial reaction, Hide understood that he'd have to tackle this on his own. He had to know whether his friends had hearts- or, at the very least, sympathy. Hide knew that he had a job to do, but that didn't meant he felt good about what equated to lawful murder.

"But, how would that even be possible? Wouldn't they have killed me?" Seido asked, partially turning back to his work. He was losing interest.

"No, no! They're your friend. They _like_ you." Hide insisted, and Seido raised an eyebrow. Seemed like he was incapable of associating ghouls with having feelings. _Argh_. Akira eyed them suspiciously.

"Are you two working? The transfers will be here _next week_. We have to get this stuff done or Amon will never let me live it down." Akira said, and they fell silent. Hide would corner Akira during their lunch break and ask her. And if she went the same way as Seido…

There was probably no way to continue being friends with them.

He and Kaneki were getting serious- and rightly so. They were fated to spend forever together. He hated being on the literal opposite spectrum from his soulmate, an odd disconnect, like plugging an audio cord into a video port. His _entire workplace_ was dedicated to slaughtering ghouls, Kaneki included.

oOo

"Oh, God. What do you want." Akira noticed Hide sitting at the table she usually occupied for her very short lunch break. She didn't want to deal with _his shit_ , when she had her plate full of _her shit,_ with Amon breathing down her neck. She was sick of his games- he liked to make her suffer for something that wasn't even her fault. Bastard. She refocused on the ray of sunshine in front of her. He had his trademark face-splitting grin, so she let her guard drop. Just a little.

"Good afternoon, Akira. Sit down." Hide teased, making it sound like _she_ was the guest here. Despite herself, she cracked a smile. She sat, placing her tray in front of her. He picked off of it like a vulture while she got settled. That was alright with her, though. She would never admit it, but she loved Hide like her family. They'd worked together for four years. She'd seen him grow so much, over such a long time, and she was so proud of him, honestly. And, he was so happy with Kaneki. Whoever he was, she hoped she got to meet the man that made Hide impossibly brighter.

He drummed his fingers on the table, and Akira watched him. He had a question for her. She could read his body language like a book. "Spill, Hide. We only have 20 minutes."

"Well… it's kind of out there, but… it's just something that's… been on my mind." Hide drawled, and folded his hands in front of him. Good, the tapping was grating. "How would you feel, if one of your closest friends... were a ghoul?"

Akira pursed her lips. She knew that Hide was often conflicted about what they had to do. Of course, that never stopped him from doing his job, so she didn't complain or refute him. However, she also understood where he came from- ghouls were _not_ mindless animals, as evidenced by their complicated gang ties and social networking. Plus, there were ghouls that could perfectly imitate human behavior, and there was always the question if they were truly imitating, or experiencing human emotions and thought processes. "I would feel… angry, probably."

Hide rolled his eyes. "Yeah. What would you _do_ about it?"

"It's sounds like you're giving me a psychological test. Moral versus lawful good and all." Akira took a bite of her food, buying her some time. This was a loaded question. "Hypothetically?"

"Hypothetically." Hide confirmed, and stole a bite of his own.

"Well… If they were really my friend, why would they have lied to me in the first place?" Akira questioned, and he winced. Maybe not so hypothetical…? No, no way. They had RC cell detectors at every entrance and exit to their building, and Hide had never set them off. Maybe he'd made a friend himself, and needed advice. Besides, she _had_ to trust Hide. With her life. He wouldn't ever lie to her, not about something like this.

But.

Her emotional attachment to him was affecting her ability to remain impartial, which was critical to her success as a Ghoul Investigator. She had to choose whether to answer as his friend, or a top employee of the CCG.

"Hypothetically, I would probably chew them out. Threaten them. The usual things I do when I get mad." Hide smiled a little. It was kind of sad though. "But… if they were _really_ my friend… then I guess… it wouldn't matter. _Hypothetically_. I'd only ever be friends with the most deserving, upstanding people, and if those qualities are within that ghoul, then I think they should have the right to at least speak in their defense."

Hide seemed to relax. He smiled, bright and guileless. "Good to know. Hypothetically. Seido said the opposite. I think he think ghouls are, like…"

"Mindless? Eh, they have their moments, but they _are_ cunning, resourceful, emotional, etc. etc. Seido just… I don't think he's paid enough attention to how ghoul's minds work. It's a dark way to think, anyway." Akira admitted, aware of her boyfriend's fallacies. Yes, she could cut ghouls down mercilessly, thanks to her grudges, but ghouls were varied, just like humans. She remembered a case that she'd gotten when she was a lot younger, about a ghoul who only took one or two bites out of a victim before moving on, leaving them alive. At first, they had thought the Snacker was doing it to leave the humans suffering, but he always took from non-vital areas with minimal violence. When they had cornered him, he begged to live. He claimed he was trying to exist peacefully with humans, that he wasn't a murderer, that he was a good person. Her father had sliced him in two. " _For being two-faced_ ", he had cackled.

She knew what her father would do.

"Alright, Akira! I'll get outta your hair." Hide said and stood, dropping a few bills on the table to cover the food that he ate. She considered refusing, but didn't want to turn away his generosity. Besides, she could put in a good word for him when it came to bonus-check time.

"And back to work, I hope." She dug, and he snorted. She glared, that no-nonsense look that he knew well from their years together, and immediately rescinded his dismissal. He promised to get working, and with a snappy salute ( _God, he was a dork_ ), he was off. She smiled fondly as he left, hiding it by looking down at her purse. Yeah, she definitely knew what her father would do.

But she wasn't her father.

oOo

Seido rubbed his eyes and raised his head from his desk. Akira would be back from lunch any minute, and wouldn't take kindly to him sleeping, even if he _was_ on break. He blinked the sleep from his eyes and brought his computer back to life. He clicked around, opening an appropriate amount of tabs, and then actually opened his work. Age old tricks that Akira probably saw through in a heartbeat, but never pointed out. Ah, he loved her. At least, as much as he could, for someone that wasn't his soulmate. His eyes darted to his own wrist, knowing what he would see under his sleeve. Instead of a mirror of Akira's, he would see a full twenty four hours. Which sucked.

A hand slammed on his desk suddenly, and he jumped in his seat. Amon smirked down at him, amused by his reaction. _This guy_. He harbored, if not hate, an intense dislike for the man that had broken his girlfriend's heart, and continued to break it just by existing. She had confided to him that being even in the same room with him felt like she was being pulled out of her skin, magnetized to him by a force out of her control. The fact that he was probably aware of it, and capitalized on it, made Seido sick. But. He respected his coworkers, to a degree, and as much as he wanted to throttle Amon, he stayed deferent.

"Hey, Amon-san. Do you need something?" Seido asked politely.

"No, just wanted to make sure you were awake before the Ice Queen came back." Amon explained, and Seido sighed. Amon was also very business-minded, but when it came to Akira, he was rude and childish.

"She hates that nickname, you know. She's just responsible, not icy." He tried to explain, but Amon waved him off. Insensitive jerk. How did he even have any friends? ...Hmm. What would he think of Hide's question? Surely, he would immediately kill the ghoul, right? That was what he should do- the only reasons for a ghoul to be friends with a human would not bode well for the latter. "Say, Amon-san, what would you do if a longtime friend of yours turned out to be a ghoul?"

Amon raised an eyebrow. "Is this a metaphor for something?"

"Ugh, no, just… what would you do?" Seido probed, gesturing for him to answer.

"Well…" Amon looked uncomfortable, as if recalling a bad memory, "...if they were my friend, then, I'd give them at least a chance."

What? " _What_?" Seido exclaimed, extremely caught off guard. "But you're. A Ghoul Investigator. We're supposed to _kill_ ghouls, not befriend them!"

"No, we're supposed to subdue dangers to the human population of Tokyo. If my friend weren't a danger, then there'd be no problem." Amon asserted, looking away. "I mean… not all ghouls activity kill people. According to our estimates, over a dozen ghouls are hiding out in 20 alone, without drawing attention to themselves. Leading normal lives, blending in. Maybe they don't want to be…"

Seido was borderline horrified. "Want to be _what_ , Amon-san?"

"Murderers." He finished quietly. Seido had never heard him this unsure. Hide suddenly waltzed in, and Seido quickly turned away from Amon. This conversation was over. Of course ghouls were murderers. They _had_ to be, to eat! If they didn't kill, they couldn't survive.

...If they didn't, they would die.

"Hey, Seido! Have a good nap?" Hide chirped, spinning in his chair a few times. He seemed to be in a better mood. "Akira's finishing up, so let's get cracking."

Seido nodded, and glanced at his screen. He only had a few more blanks to fill on a couple more files. Why…?

 _What would you do, if your friend were…_

 _If they had to…_

 _Murderers_...

...did he feel…

 _No choice..._

 _Don't want…_

...Bad?


	12. Chapter 12

_Kaneki: Hide, calm down. You're panicking, I can feel it._

 _Hide: kaneki u dont understand akira is gonna behead one of us_

 _Hide: shes so demanding._

 _Kaneki: She just wants to make a good impression on the new Investigators._

 _Hide: eeeeeeehhgijoj_

 _Kaneki: It'll be okay. Remember, after today, you get an entire week off! But only if it goes well._

 _Hide: pshhh days off those little newbies are gonna steal my job_

 _Kaneki: Hide._

 _Kaneki: I only have half-day shifts._

 _Hide: yeah_

 _Hide: OH_

 _Kaneki: Just work hard, and I'll meet you at Anteiku tomorrow morning._

 _Hide: mmkay ;-) byebye_

 _Kaneki: Bye._

Hide reluctantly put his phone away, checking the time quickly. Only a few hours before the transfers arrived. They would go straight into a briefing, then be assigned to different squads. The Mado Squad was getting two or three to help with the ongoing Gourmet investigation, so Akira was going to take them out for a sweep. Hide had a good idea of why they were _really_ getting transfers, though, and it wasn't good.

The ghoul activity in the area, Hide had learned, was actually being carefully monitored and controlled through Anteiku. They kinda… _stole_ meat from already dead humans, which was freaking weird from his perspective, but a viable option to a ghoul. Better than being a murderer. ...Like Kaneki said, it existed for ghouls that didn't want to hurt humans- and apparently, to minimize the threat to the locals. Which made his job easier, but… If higher ranking Investigators, like him, weren't needed, there was always the possibility of being moved to a problem Ward. Maybe away from his friends. Away from his home.

… Away from Kaneki.

So even the promise of an entire week with his soulmate couldn't lift his usually high spirits.

Anyway. It only took Hide a few minutes to double and triple check through his work for the day that did not include the transfers, so he was left to deal with a rampaging Akira for the majority of the morning. Seido had wisely offered to deliver papers from office to office, leaving him out of the crossfire. Amon, for once, kept his mouth shut and let Akira do her job. The other Investigators kept their heads down and their mouths shut. By noon, her bun was slowly unraveling, along with her patience. There was apparently a mix-up at another branch, so the Mado Squad would be one short.

"Okay, final report! We will be getting one Special Class Investigator and one Rank 3 Investigator! When they arrive from briefing, I want them paired up and sent out to sweep. I have to go deal with these issues, so if they arrive before I get back… Amon, you will deal with it. No objections! Take them to all known hotspots of Gourmet's activity." Akira said, looking over all of her squad. Hide made sure to nod when she met his eyes. He'd keep things running smoothly for her. Amon probably got the job so that Hide could keep an eye on the remaining Investigators.

Seido came back to his desk, back from his last delivery, carefully kept hair beginning to fray. "Woah. Hard day, am I right?"

Hide sighed tiredly. "Yep. Our transfers are gonna be here soon. We got two, one Special Class and one 3rd."

"Akira's busy though, who's-"

"Amon's gonna take them, and we're gonna keep an ear out back here. If anything happens, we dispatch backup, if they find anything, they report it back, we record it, etc." Hide clicked off his computer, and turned on his radio. "We'll get them on our frequency first."

The doors opened, and a sort of hush fell over the office. _Let's see who we got_. Hide rose out of his chair, closely followed by Amon. There was a huge guy, with a seriously cool haircut, and a kid who couldn't even be in his twenties yet. The one in the suit stepped forward, and held out his hand. Hide took it, eyes still trained on the other. He had a wicked sense of style.

"Shinohara Yukinori. This is Suzuya Juuzou. Glad to be here. ...Amon, is that you?" The guy informed, and Amon casually stepped in front of Hide to shake Shinohara's hand. _Rude_.

"Shinohara-san! It's been a while." Amon said gravely, and Shinohara nodded.

"Had to be Mado-san's funeral, yeah? How's _she_ holding up?" Amon shrugged, and held a hand out to Suzuya. His big eyes flitted from him to Hide.

"When will we get our quinque?" He asked Hide, and he was taken back by how… _small_ , he sounded. He had red pieces of thread seemingly sewn into his skin, and his blank stare was kind of unnerving.

"That should've been explained in the briefing. You'll be equipped with guns until-" Amon answered, but Suzuya's eyes narrowed.

"I didn't ask you."

Shinohara chuckled a bit nervously. "Please, forgive Suzuya. He's very… driven."

"No problem. For today, you'll have the guns. As soon as you come in tomorrow, you can get a quinque. Sound good?" Hide replied, and Suzuya seemed a bit let down, but nodded. "Great, so, if you'll get out your communication devices, we can get you hooked up to the rest of the squad and send you out!"

"I will be escorting you for a sweep." Amon said, with little enthusiasm. Pshhh. He could at _least_ fake it.

"Why can't he?" Suzuya asked, pointing to Hide. "Hey, who are you, anyway?"

"Nagachika Hideyoshi. Special Class. Nice to meet you. And I've gotta keep an eye on things here. Just in case something happens." Hide said, showing Shinohara how to get to the right frequency. He did the same with Suzuya's radio.

"So something _could_ happen?" This guy was full of questions. Very enthusiastic. Hide worried about him in the field.

"It's always a possibility. We have a couple of high-ranked ghouls in this Ward. Just a heads up." Amon said, going to retrieve a case containing the weapons for the day. He passed each new Investigator a gun and a few cases of quinque bullets. They were all set. Suzuya twirled the gun skillfully, then stuck it in his waistband. Shinohara slipped it into his jacket pocket. Amon seemed satisfied. "We'll be off."

Hide nodded, and returned to his desk. Seido pointedly looked between the door and his friend. Hide raised an eyebrow. "Yeah?"

"What's with that kid?" He asked, and Hide just turned his chair to face his computer.

"It's rude to talk about people. He seems nice enough. Eager."

"That's one word for it." Seido muttered, and went back to his own work. Yeesh. Tensions were running high today. Hide needed a coffee. Unfortunately, Kaneki and his refined tastes had spoiled the office's cheap supply, and he knew that one of Touka's lattes would hit the spot. Double unfortunate, he was working late today. _A whole week off for this_ , he reminded himself, and Akira sped through the doors. She came at him like a train, and Hide's blood ran cold. She was furious.

"I swear, the other teams are absolutely incompetent!" She said lividly, and Hide stood to talk to her. "We are missing _three_ sets of paperwork, and no one knows who's responsible! It can't be us, because we made sure to send out each set after double checking _everything_ , but they love to point fingers."

"Well, they have to be somewhere, right? Breathe." Hide waited until her breath slowed to continue. Seido watched meekly. An angry Akira was a scary Akira. "Our transfers seem great. At least we have order here, okay? Find the small things."

Akira puffed out a strained laugh. "Small things. Got it."

Hide reached over to pat her shoulder, and she untensed them. This was good. Akira always got so stressed about work, and she never had anybody to vent to. He hoped that Amon was feeling the pressure, because this should've been _his_ job, not Hide's.

"We've got an all clear from section one." Seido said quietly, hand pressed to his ear. "Suzuya is a ball of energy, Shinohara is really impressive. But of course Amon would say that."

"Shinohara? Shinohara Yukinori?" Akira asked, and Seido nodded. "He was… my father's partner."

oOo

Juuzou let his arms swing at his side as he lazily followed Shinohara. He was b-o-r-e-d. There were no ghouls in sight. _Sigh._ Why couldn't have he been put through to 11? Now _that_ would've been exciting! He'd wager he could even get his hands on a motorcycle there, and access to a bunch of high tech quinque. Not to mention the extreme number of ghouls. Nothing like 20. 20 was… quiet. Lifeless.

He absently picked at the stitches on his wrist, tastefully embellishing his counter. Or, at least, he thought so. Maybe he should redo them? Nobody at the briefing seemed impressed. He noticed for the first time that it no longer read 24 hours. Amon paged in another all clear, and Juuzou resisted the urge to put himself out of his misery. He would be good today, just because it was day one and he knew that there were bigger fish to fry here. Pshh. Gourmet didn't even _do_ much anymore, ghoul restaurants were so outdated.

" _Come, Rei-chan! Time to make Madam proud!"_

Good thing, too.

"Suzuya?" Shinohara asked. Juuzou had stopped walking, frozen on the sidewalk. He grinned up at the man, and the Investigator hid his unease with his own smile. Very poorly. Tsk, tsk.

"Not much to _doooo_ …" Juuzou sang, and Shinohara nodded. They resumed walking, leisurely compared to Amon's brisk pace. What was the rush?

"Well, this Ward is known for its quiet nature."

Juuzou leaned in conspiratorially, and faux-whispered. "Plus, Amon-is is kind of a bore, too. Don't you think?"

Shinohara raised an eyebrow. "It's not his fault that the ghouls aren't out. And isn't that a good thing? Safe?"

"Yeah, guess so." Juuzou shrugged. "'Sides, what can we even do without quinque?"

"Not much." Shinohara allowed, offering a small smile to Juuzou. It was a bit more genuine than the last.

"Say, are we partners, Shinohara?" He asked suddenly, curiously interested in the answer. He'd never really cared who he got paired up with, so long as they stayed out of his way. Lots of people disliked him, though. He didn't get it.

"I would assume so." He said slowly, looking over at Amon. His shoulders were a tense line, and he seemed to be struggling with something. Weird.

Juuzou let himself grin in the worst way he knew how. Shinohara didn't flinch... externally. Heh, he _had_ to know about his history, yet here he was, carrying on a civil conversation. Juuzou liked that. "Then, you can call me Juuzou."

"... You're not calling me Yukinori." Juuzou snorted. As expected from a Special Class Investigator.

"That's fair, Shinohara-san." They turned a corner. Amon ran a hand through his hair. Juuzou whistled quietly. Something drew his eyes to a side street on his left, and he slowed. There was a trio surrounding someone on their knees, and Juuzou almost turned back away in disinterest. But.

But,

A flash

Of red.

He could see it, even in the dark. Kagune. Amon was too far ahead. They would miss it if he didn't act now. ...Eh, he could handle it. Their loss. Smirking to himself, he stole away down the street, dancing away from the rings of streetlights. He would be quick. Efficient. _Mama's good boy_!

Execution came as easily to him as breathing.

In no time at all, the three ghouls were absolutely riddled with holes. Huh, maybe these guns weren't so useless after all. The human he'd saved struggled to their feet, thanking him profusely. The patter of two sets of footsteps let Juuzou know that his absence was noticed. He turned, returning the smoking gun to his waistband. Was it just him, or did Shinohara seem relived? Amon looked livid, but Juuzou's easy smile never slipped. He started harping on about cooperation or whatever. Heh. Not his style. Besides, he got the job done, didn't he? Shinohara quietly started interviewing the victim for any pertinent information. Amon continued to nag. Bodies slowly bled out on the sidewalk.

Pretty good first day, Juuzou guessed.

oOo

"Three ghouls, all down. No casualties." Seido reported. Akira was perched on the edge of Hide's desk, where he was furiously manning the control center of the office. He hit a few keys and a map of the Ward pulled up. He tapped out a warning for the location Amon was in, just in case there were more ghouls in the area. Akira silently directed him in a few more tasks. She was a lot calmer, though she was a bit red in the face.

None of them had expected the transfers to find any ghouls. The running hypothesis was that the low ranks were just passing through 20, but they'd had quite a few cases of small fry stopping to hunt. Why in 20? It was one of the safest Wards… would that make the people more trusting? Akira glanced down at the pad of paper Hide was writing on. She nodded at his theory.

"Increase border security, and put out more warning adverts. The people need to be made aware that ghouls can still travel from Ward to Ward. Just because it's quiet doesn't mean it's safe!" Akira commanded the whole room, then slipped off of Hide's desk. She leaned down to him. "Look into those missing reports for me. You're working late, right?"

Hide sighed. "Unfortunately. I'll see what I can do. Seido, any word on those MIA files?"

"N-no. Nobody knows where they went…" Seido answered, and Hide nearly thunked his head on his desk. Who lost two whole folders full of critical transfer reports?

"God, okay. Just see what you can do." Akira pressed a hand to her temple. He'd have a headache soon, too, if things kept being this stressful. He still wanted that latte. He wanted Kaneki. He wanted to go _home_.

"Got it, boss." Hide said, at the same time Seido said, "A-Amon and transfers, coming home."

oOo

"...And I still couldn't find those files. I snooped all night, and the only thing I found was that they _did_ come from our office, but Akira said Seido promised that he got everything to its place." Hide vented as Kaneki gently ran his hand over his back. Hide was on his stomach, head resting on the pillows, staring into Kaneki's bleary eyes. They were in bed- _Kaneki's_ bed- though nothing had happened. Hide had worked to his breaking point, and then he had come over here without a second thought, only to crash. But Hide would run over to his apartment later to grab a few things, clothes, human necessities, and then had the whole week to do... whatever. Kaneki's spare pajamas were _really_ comfortable, though.

"Well, have you checked with the recipients?" Kaneki murmured, stifling a yawn. He probably wanted his morning coffee, and here Hide was, complaining. He made a move to get up, but Kaneki's light touch turned to anvils on his back. Kaneki clicked his tongue. "You get to have bad days, too, Hide. Breakfast can wait."

Hide grumbled, but drooped back into the mattress. The pressure on his back relented. Kaneki resumed his ministrations. "Stubborn. Yeah, I checked. They… said they didn't see Seido, but…"

"But you're taking his word for it?" Kaneki said, and his tone implied what Hide also feared. Seido might've been the one to screw this up. And then, he lied right to Akira's face. Hide hissed in a breath. Kaneki's deft fingers ran up his spine and scratched over his scalp. "Don't worry about it. If Seido is at fault here, that's his problem."

"I don't wanna rat him out," Hide whined, "But Akira-"

"Not your problem." Kaneki insisted, and he patted Hide once on the head. "Okay. Breakfast now? I can probably make eggs or something, but you'll have to salt them."

Hide's heart warmed, and he disregarded the issue for now. He had a wonderful ghoul soulmate who just offered to cook him food. How _endearing_. "I can try to make your coffee?"

"No, Hide. You can barely tell the difference between _water_ and _good coffee_." Kaneki instantly deadpanned, and grunted as he rolled away from Hide. He stood and stretched, giving Hide a really nice view of his back muscles.

He pouted. "That's not very nice." Hide followed him, though, into the kitchen, and didn't argue any further. His coffee was nowhere up to scratch with a ghoul's, let alone Kaneki's.

The kitchen was small, but efficient, and still packed with Hide's delicious junk food. When Hide insisted he stock the shelves himself, Kaneki waved him off. The food- half eaten jars of peanut butter, open bags of chips, empty soda cans- actually helped divert CCG suspicion. Which Hide totally did _not_ file away for later. Soon, the scent of bitter coffee and the sizzling sound of cooking filled the air. He and Kaneki kept up a steady stream of words, poking, teasing, flirting, talking.

He poured two mugs of coffee as Kaneki scooped out the eggs from the pan. Hide took over at the sink, rinsing the dishes, and Kaneki carefully measured out sugar and creamer for Hide's drink. They worked sinuously and simultaneously. Kaneki managed to peck him on the cheek as he passed, giving Hide a cheeky smile. He was probably thinking the exact same thing as him- they were being awfully domestic. Hide wished it could be like this all the time.

oOo

Juuzou noticed Takizawa's eye twitch as he finally reached the end of his rather long-winded spiel. He'd been regaling his new coworker with war stories, enjoying his miffed and horrified reactions. Shinohara was on a coffee run for the both of them, because the office coffee was very unimpressive, so Juuzou had taken to his own special brand of _socializing_.

Mado's daughter hadn't had time for him, though she did humor him a bit. He seemed to pique her interest, which wasn't the normal revulsion or sympathy. Juuzou liked variety sometimes. She was very controlled, something he admired, but something broiled below the surface of her very skin and bones. She was a time bomb. Juuzou wanted to be there when she finally caved under the pressure of an entire squad and the reputation of her dead father.

Her boyfriend ( _her timer was zeroed, he could tell, but, but, but, she and Takizawa…?_ ) on the other hand, treated him like a pest. Which, admittedly, he probably was, but… did he care? Not really. The man was jumpy, shifty. Hiding something. How interesting. Juuzou was instantly drawn to him, perching himself on the Investigator's desk. The office gossip was all about the mysterious reports that had _vanished_ , but Juuzou had a good idea of where they went. Besides that, he was kind of a pushover, a try hard, and Juuzou honestly wondered how he was in such a privileged squad.

That blonde ( _fake, but well done_ ) was missing too, and after only 10 minutes of repeated asking did he learn that he was off for the week. How lame. There was something about him that resonated with Juuzou, and he had a knack for recognizing the out of place. So what about Nagachika was out of place? He _really_ wanted to find out.

Amon held nothing of note for him, just another uppity CCG cog that was way too invested in his work. He liked to think he was efficient, but was he really? There was something distracting him, big time.

Juuzou felt that he was going to like it here.


	13. Chapter 13

"This is so contrived, I swear to God. Let me read in peace." Kaneki begged. Hide poked one of the socked feet that rested in his lap. He and Kaneki were on the couch, well after lunch, and Hide was watching one of the recent dramas on the television. Kaneki was at one side, coffee on the end table, nose in a book, legs stretched out all the way to the other side. _Hot hot leg_. Hide, on the opposite side, sat cross-legged, bound and determined to get Kaneki to watch the horrible show. He kept messing with Kaneki's feet, ankles, calves, but his tickling was extremely ineffective. It was only when he'd begun to narrate the plot that Kaneki finally noticed.

"Akiko is heading to the bakery, because she knows that Mira will be there, and she needs to work out the whole library issue with her. Oh, her hat is bright yellow in this scene. Do you think it means something?" Hide said, faking genuine interest.

Kaneki closed his eyes. "Hide, nothing in this show has meaning. It was written by middle schoolers."

Hide clicked his tongue. "Well, I'm bored, and this is the only thing on."

"I'm sure there are better things to do." Kaneki muttered as he flipped a page. His white hair stuck up in a few odd places, because they hadn't bothered to clean up or get dressed today. Hide's clothes could wait- Kaneki had some big sweaters that he could borrow for now. They were a lot nicer than his stuff at home, and they smelled like Kaneki, so, bonus. Hide sat back and mindlessly watched the two girls on screen get increasingly angrier. Ugh, the dialogue _was_ pretty scripted, and their faces definitely needed work. Kaneki shifted his legs, and Hide glanced his way again. Still reading. Hmm. Hide's heart skipped as he thought of something else they could do, something that could get Kaneki to put his book down. But how to start something like _that_ …?

Hide's eyes darted down, then across the legs in his lap. He hesitantly ran one hand all the way up to Kaneki's knee, arm stretched and fingers splayed. Kaneki didn't so much as twitch. He still thought that Hide was trying to get him to watch. Hide knew from experience that Kaneki was absolutely ripped, probably a ghoul thing, but oh so incredibly irresistible. Hide retraced his path, this time taking time to really _feel_ the muscle under the cotton and skin. Even his legs were toned to perfection.

Kaneki finally seemed to sense the shift in the mood, and he glanced over his book. "Having fun?"

"You're so hot, dude." Hide blurted, and his hands paused halfway up Kaneki's leg.

"Well, all that CCG work has made you into quite the specimen yourself." Kaneki teased, and then had the gall to go back to reading. _He was toying with him._ Hide harrumphed and scooted to the right a bit for more access, increasing his range to Kaneki's thighs. He took his time appreciating the curves of Kaneki's body, and he felt the ghoul's toes curl as he brushed closer and closer to the _danger zone_. _Gotcha_.

"Move your legs offa' me." Hide commanded, and hopped off the couch as Kaneki complied. "You hungry?"

Kaneki carefully marked his page, setting it on the table next to his cooling coffee. "No. I ate a few days ago. Bedroom?"

"Anticipating something?" Hide prodded, and Kaneki smiled as he took Hide's hand. They walked together, hands linked, back to the bedroom. Hide liked this… easiness between them. There was no awkward, no pressure, no rush. Just them. Perks of being bound together by fate, he guessed. The door was closed, and Hide reached to open it. Kaneki, though, caught his wrist and Hide was pinned to the door in seconds. "Impatient, aren't we…"

Kaneki rolled his eyes, and leaned in to forcefully kiss Hide. Hide instantly relaxed, putty in Kaneki's hands. Kaneki's lips were soft, insistent, and Hide wished he could literally just kiss him forever, because he was _way_ too good at it for Hide to deal. Kaneki broke away with a gasp, and leaned his forehead on Hide's. His eyes were half lidded, and Hide smiled reassuringly. His wrists were released, and he speedily reached around to turn the knob. Kaneki backed them up into the room, and Hide let himself be pushed onto the bed. He scooted up so that his back rested against the headboard, and Kaneki skillfully climbed over his legs to settle in his lap.

Hide let his hands wander under Kaneki's sleep shirt. _Abs for days_. Kaneki leaned down, trapping his hands between them, to rejoin their lips. Kaneki's tongue was absolutely sinful, and combined with the tugging hands in his hair, on his shoulders, tracing his collarbones, it didn't take long for Hide to get hard. He didn't know if it was a soulmate thing or just that Kaneki knew how to work his body.

Whatever it was, Kaneki was feeling it too, obviously. The ghoul tugged gently at his lips with his teeth as he subconsciously ground down, and Hide saw _stars_. They fit together like puzzle pieces sometimes, and this was no exception. Hide wormed his hands out from under Kaneki's chest and reached for the hem of his shirt. Kaneki sat up, and quickly discarded his top. _Nice_. Hide took a moment to appreciate just how _built_ the ghoul was. And he was all Hide's.

"What do you want...?" Kaneki whispered as he leaned back down, trailing his nose down Hide's neck. He pressed upwards, seeking more of Kaneki's body on him, against him. _You, Kaneki. Just you._ He didn't have to say anything. Even if he wanted to, it was simply a struggle to breathe, let alone form a sentence. The familiar and exhilarating pressure of teeth on his pulse point made his heart race. He felt like he was on fire, Kaneki was gasoline and they'd just lit a match. Hide's legs wrapped around Kaneki's waist, driving their hips together.

" _Shit_." Hide gasped as Kaneki's teeth clenched, the pain dull in comparison to the intense spike of pleasure that shot through his body. Truth be told, he wanted Kaneki to be a little rough with him. Still, the way Kaneki kissed away the furious marks sent his heart into overdrive. Hide's pelvis jerked up in time with Kaneki's ministrations. He knew that his neck would be bearing his soulmate's marks for days. Hide wasn't shy about being vocal, and he unabashedly moaned Kaneki's name when the ghoul's teeth tugged gently at his earlobe.

It had the opposite effect than Hide intended. Kaneki suddenly rolled off of him, onto his back, one arm thrown across his face. Hide propped himself up on one elbow, wondering if he did something wrong. Kaneki's face- what he could see of it, anyway- was beet red, and Hide couldn't suppress a small chuckle when he realized what was the matter.

"You're embarrassed?" Hide said, his voice loud in the heavy air of the room. Hide had to take the lead last time, too. Kaneki nodded once, shuddering out a sigh. Hide grinned. "Aw, come on! No need to be _shy_!"

Kaneki let his arm slide away, and he opened one eye to look at Hide. "Easy for you to say. How are you so confident about this sort of thing?"

"Because I'm with you, dummy." Hide stated, and he sat up slowly. His pants-situation was uncomfortable, to say the least. He grabbed the back of his shirt and pulled it over his head, tossing it aside to deal with later. Reaching over to Kaneki, Hide ran one hand up the length of the ghoul's arm, trying to be reassuring. "But we don't ever _have_ to do anything."

Kaneki closed his eye again. "I _want_ to, Hide. I just…"

"Hey, no worries. I'll take care of you, I promise." Hide vowed, leaning over to kiss Kaneki on the cheek. Kaneki visibly relaxed, and Hide moved so that he could lock their lips together and still have range to ghost his hands over Kaneki's chest. He was never more thankful that Akira made him start working out, otherwise he'd be too ashamed to take his own shirt off, and okay thinking about his coworker during sexytime definitely was not a Good Thing.

The way that Kaneki looked at Hide when he sat up and threw his shirt aside, though ( _hungry, oh god_ ) was for sure a Good Thing. The ghoul was starting to get back in the swing of things, and Hide shuddered as cold fingers, hesitant though they were, traced designs up and down his arms. Nice as it felt, Hide put it to a stop when he pulled on Kaneki's wrists, pinning them to the pillow as he pushed their foreheads together. He snickered, and rolled his hips once, reveling in Kaneki's almost imperceptible gasp.

"Feeling better?" Hide asked quietly, something molten pooling in his stomach, and Kaneki just nodded. "You know, that shade of red is _spectacular_ with your hair."

"Oh my God." Kaneki breathed, rolling his eyes and letting his head loll back on the pillow. Hide took advantage and started pressing featherlight kisses to his soulmate's neck, yet unafraid to give him a few marks of his own. " _Ahh_ , Hide…"

Hide stopped just as Kaneki was getting desperate, getting a whine from the ghoul.

" _I love you_." Hide only thought the words, nuzzling his face into Kaneki's collarbone, but the reaction from his soulmate was immediate and intense. The ghoul under him bucked up, grinding fiercely. Hide felt the air whoosh out of his lungs, and all he could do, like his mind turned to much, was pant Kaneki's name. Like a sforzando dynamic, soft to suddenly, overbearingly loud. Hide could've _sworn_ Kaneki _growled_ , if he could hear correctly over the roaring in his ears. A feeling, like having the floor disappear from under your feet. Suspended for an instant, like in a cartoon, looking down, stomach swooping, and then the _fall_ -

Hide cursed-

there was a sharp sting of pain at his neck again-

something _wet_ ( _a tongue_ , the masochist in him whispered jovially)-

his mouth was moving-

 _Kaneki Kaneki Kaneki Ka-_

 _ne-_

 _ki_...

oOo

 _One does not know what they have until it's gone._ That saying never rang more true for Akira than in this moment. Hide was one of her lifelines, and with him on break, she had to deal with the office scandal, the transfers, and her usual workload all alone. Her boyfriend had been unusually quiet the past few days, causing one of her old fears to flare up again. He was… _hiding something_. She knew that they weren't soulmates. She _knew_ , inevitably, that he would leave her for someone else. Someone better.

And hell if that didn't give her an inferiority complex.

They were rivals in school. She wasn't used to second best. He'd always been fine with letting someone else take the lead, following orders, knowing his place. They'd clicked after they'd graduated, no longer bound by the fierce threat of each other. But still… she'd been the golden child her whole life. Mado-san's daughter. How could she _not_ be a prodigy? Expectations were higher than ever nowadays.

Akira was stretched so thin… and who could she depend on? Her father? Taken from her, stripped off like a layer of skin, leaving her somehow less than she used to be. Her soulmate? An honest, hardworking man, turned into a slave by his work and his grief for another woman, someone who she could never rival, making him cruel beyond belief to her. Her partner? So, _so_ happy, such a ray of sunshine, but busy with his own life now- he couldn't keep catering to her forever. And neither could Seido. No one. _Nothing_ was a constant for her. Fate kept screwing her over, and over, and honestly, she was nearly sick to death of it. She could never get an easy break.

"Mado-san?" Her head snapped to the right, where one of the new Investigators, Suzuya, waited with a curious impression. "You look very far away. What were you thinking about?"

She blinked once, gaze locking on a fraying piece of red thread sewn directly under his left eye. "Nothing. How may I help you?"

He scratched at one cheek, smiling easily. Something about it was empty, though, and Suzuya looked deathly pale in the whitewashed office lights. "Well, I just thought you ought to know, Mado-san, about the files… well, I've looked into them, because I was curious…"

"No need for that, Suzuya. Thanks you, though." She dismissed him instantly. She was beyond done with these rumors. Hide had dealt with things, assuring her that, according to Seido, they had done no wrong. The other squads were probably trying to save their own skin by trying to incriminate her boyfriend. But… he _had_ been secretive the past few days... Suzuya held up his hands imploringly, smile widening. What was he so happy about?

"It's for your own sake, trust me. I know that Takizawa-san took on the task of delivering the folders to the proper offices, but others say they never saw..." He paused for breath deliberately. Akira began to put together the pieces of a puzzle she _really_ didn't like. Her face must have showed it, too, because Suzuya let it drop. He took a step back, and shrugged. "Just thought you should know, Mado-san."

Akira swore that she saw red. She whipped out her phone. It was old, outdated, but it served its purpose. Amon eyed her from across the room, and she resisted the urge to flip him off. This was an emergency.

 _Akira: Takizawa Seidou you are dead._

 _Seido: what what did I do? Is my desk messy?_

 _Akira: Be honest. What happened to the files?_

 _Seido: I already told you idk why are you getting so angry?_

 _Akira: Because I don't think you were being truthful! Hide even said things didn't fully add up, but it never would have crossed my mind that you lied to my face._

 _Seido: Hide? He's wrong, A. Why would I lie to you?_

 _Akira: I don't know. Suzuya said something too, there's just too much stacked against you. Just finish your lunch and come talk to me. I'm sorry for overreacting. I'm just really stressed out right now._

 _Seido: suzuya? That creepy bastard who doesn't know when to shut his mouth? Tell him to keep his nose out of our business. And I don't want to talk this conversation is over_

 _Akira: What? Suzuya is a member of our team now. And we will talk face to face, before this escalates any further._

 _Seido: whatever. He's nothing to me. Have you heard what they've said about him? He's practically a ghoul!_

 _Akira: oh my God. That's so rude! It's not his fault, the way he is._

 _Seido: if I didn't know any better I'd think u were a sympathizer. what would ur father say?_

 _Akira: How dare you bring up my father!_

 _Akira: You've changed the subject._

 _Akira: you're deflecting_

 _Seido: if all ur gonna do is point fingers and yell at me through ur phone_

 _Akira: What is up with you? We just need to talk, you're obviously upset. We can calm down and..._

 _Seido: no you know what. I think it's time to call it quits. you know. we were just fooling ourselves. I think our opinions are a bit too different. You know this wasn't gonna work out._

 _Akira: no. No wait, Seido. I know that you have a soulmate somewhere, but you don't understand! I_

 _Seido: see, you can't even say the words, because they aren't true. I really do like you, Akira, but_

 _Seido: my counter._

 _Akira: What_

 _Seido: it started last night. I've been avoiding you all day, not only bc of the missing files. It's zeroed now_

 _Seido: I hate to be so blunt, but it's like nothing else matters but them and i hate it_

 _Akira: I see._

 _Akira: thank you for being honest._

Shuddering misery chilled her to the bone. She hoped Seido would be happy, but this was the third man she'd lost in her life. Was she really that worthless? A hand on her shoulder made her jump. Akira hurriedly touched the corners of her eyes, hoping that the tears in them weren't visible. She wouldn't cry, not at work. That would be unprofessional.

"Akira." Amon said, and she glared as she spun. Tall and withdrawn, the Investigator stood their with the air of a mourner. He looked away, and his hand fell back to his side. She stood, and she noticed with disdain that she only barely brushed his shoulders. It took all she had not to throw herself into his arms. She had a feeling he wouldn't receive it well.

"I'm sorry I was on my phone. It won't happen again." The office chatter faded as her attention subconsciously focused on Amon, and Amon alone. _Damn it_.

"No, I…" Amon sighed forcefully, and carded a hand through his hair. "Are you alright?"

Akira's heart fluttered, but she crushed it down with the force of a stampede. "Nothing _you_ can do about it, Amon."

He bristled. "I was only asking because you're distracting." She looked down at her attire, then took a mental inventory of her actions. She quirked an eyebrow. " _No_ , not- I mean, your _emotions_. You've been running me ragged lately."

She scoffed. "That's not my fault. Work is more than difficult this week."

"Well, it's not like I can tune you out!" Amon huffed, and Akira rolled her eyes. This was a moot point. Why would he listen now, after years of her pining after him like a lovesick schoolgirl?

"Amon, I will be miserable until you get over yourself. So get used to it, because I'll be that way until I die, apparently." She snapped, and his eyes widened.

"I- Akira…." God, she hated herself for loving the way her name sounded in his voice.

An alert from her computer had her unwillingly turning back around. She could still feel Amon behind her as she read the update. Ah. Just as she suspected. "Round up, Mado-squad! And someone get a hold of Hide!"

oOo

"Hide. _Hide_. Get your phone." Kaneki yawned, and Hide groaned. Who dared to interrupt his post-coital cuddle time? His charger was plugged into the wall, phone on the nightstand, and he reached over to grab it. Kaneki snuggled closer to his chest, letting out a breathy sigh. "What is it?"

Hide stared at the screen, rereading the words that could ruin all he had going for him. "It's work. We're getting reassigned."

"What does that mean?" Kaneki asked dubiously.

"There's been a huge breakthrough in 11. They need my squad, and-"

"11? You're… moving?" Kaneki's voice was unreadable.

"Yeah, but, uh-"

"To the most violent Ward?"

"Well, the CCG finally found a foothold, we just need to strengthen our numbers and-"

"You're not going." His soulmate said flatly, turning over to tell Hide that there would be no argument. Great. Happy bubbly mood replaced by sour angry mood. He… he _had_ to do his job, though. Well, maybe they could talk about it after a nap or something. Hide turned over too, a lot colder than he was a few minutes ago, stomach rolling with unease.


	14. Chapter 14

Hide was totally spaced out. He couldn't get Kaneki out of his mind, and not in a good way. They had a fight, like an _actual fight_ and Hide felt like clawing his heart out of his chest because it _hurt_. Akira was down too, he could tell. Seido wouldn't even look at her. When had everything gotten so horrible? The mood in the office had been stale for a week, and with no ghoul activity, the squads had nothing to do but wallow.

"Hey, Hide." Suzuya sidled up to his desk, all red stitches and smiles. The kid- even though he wasn't that young, especially compared to Hide- had sorta grown on everyone. Suzuya especially liked Hide, as he was most tolerant of him, coming second only to his partner. Hide looked up at him, offering the small smile he could muster.

"What's up?" Hide asked, turning his chair. He wasn't getting any work done anyway.

Suzuya bounced on the balls of his feet. "I was talking with Akira at lunch the other day. She's worried about you."

"I'm worried about _her_." Hide sighed. "I'm sure this'll all blow over eventually, though."

"I'm not so sure." Suzuya mused, and Hide furrowed his eyebrows. For a split second, something like sadness flitted through the other's eyes, and then he was back to normal. "In fact, I think it might be my fault. Wild, huh?"

"What do you mean?" Suzuya smiled wider, Hide had taken the obvious bait, but he didn't really care.

"Well, my timer started counting when I got here, you know." He started. "Not that I've ever paid much attention to it. I mean, I don't really feel any different, but it has to be someone in this room. And it just so happens that Akira and her boyfriend break up?"

Suzuya shrugged, and Hide gaped. "Anyway, you should probably talk to her. I'm gonna go bug Seido. He's the most fun to mess with."

Sweet Jesus.

oOo

"Akira. Can I sit with you?" Akira looked up at Hide, and he tried to smile, but his heart wasn't in it. She could tell, he was sure, and nodded to the chair across from her. "Thank you."

She stared at him over her plate, watching him get settled. She rolled her shoulders, sighed, and sat forward on her chair. "Alright, you first."

Hide pouted. "I came to _you_." He pointed out, and she laughed flatly.

"Regardless." And to give Hide no choice, Akira took a bite and started chewing. Very slowly. He glared. She shrugged.

"Fine, goodness. Well, Kaneki and I had a fight about the reassignment." Hide slouched over, regretting not buying anything to eat before this. He could use some comfort food. "I can _feel_ that he's upset- we both are- but he's so _stubborn_ …"

"Figured it was something like that." Swallowing, Akira looked off before continuing. "And for the record, you're stubborn too. Don't think you're in the clear just because it's work. If I were Kaneki, I wouldn't send my soulmate off to a war zone either."

His feet scuffed the tile floor. "Same. But it _is_ work. I… can't just _not do it_."

"As your partner, I definitely agree."

"So how do I get him to talk to me?" Voice catching, he carded a hand through his hair. Akira's face softened, and she sighed.

"You got me there. Seido won't even look at me…" Her eyes cast downwards. "It's Suzuya, I think, but I talked to Shinohara. The kid, he works differently. Doesn't do… _emotions_. So all he does, because he doesn't know how to express things, is annoy Seido to death, which must make _him_ miserable. Nobody's winning, Hide."

Hide nodded. Things seemed even bleaker know that they were out in the open. That's… not how it was supposed to work, but _okay_. "So what? We just… sit and suffer?"

"What else is there to do in this world?"

oOo

In a split second decision, Akira might've just lost her best friend merits with Hide forever. Really, she hadn't meant to do it, or planned it, and he shouldn't have had his phone out, but the stars aligned and she glanced over his shoulder and the puzzle pieces clicked and _just because she was suffering didn't mean he had to_. As she walked to the coffee shop alone on Saturday, shuddering with the weight of her choice, she saw the event replay like some sick guilt-trip slideshow.

 _Amon getting on her nerves as usual, she went to Hide's desk to vent. They'd been doing that a lot lately. Venting to each other. Soulmate deprived, but, they'd always be constants in each other's lives. She'd made him promise before their first mission together. So she'd gone to him. He'd been engrossed in his phone,_ stupid man _, but she saw the contact name and froze. It was Kaneki. Once again, her partiality came into play and she let it drop, but not before she (accidentally,_ accidentally! _) read the fast and furious messages between the two. She couldn't help it, it was like dangling a steak in front of a hungry wolf, and if they were having an argument she swore she would go and knock some sense into Kaneki's head herself._

 _Soulmates were amazing. Soulmates were_ privileges _, and Kaneki was throwing_ Hide _of all people away? No. Fucking. Way._

 _So she read, and she barely even wondered if she was breaking federal law, like reading someone else's mail or something. Because she_ cared _. If they weren't gonna fix themselves, she would march down to-_

Hide: pls, Ken, we don't have to talk about it just lets do our saturday coffee date bc i dont know how much longer i can stand it

Kaneki: Not until you pull out of that suicide mission.

Hide: Anteiku, 9:00 am pls pls pls

 _-She would march down to Anteiku, whatever that was, at 7:30 to give Kaneki a stern hour long seminar on how_ wonderful _Hide was and then spend the next 30 minutes absconding to avoid being caught meddling by her best friend._

And that had landed Akira in her current position, gazing through the glass door at the waiters and patrons critically.

Because she had no idea what Kaneki looked like.

Fuck.

She could go in and ask, but then she'd feel like an idiot. But what else could she do? If she asked Hide, it would be suspicious, right?

"Excuse me." A young girl intoned behind her, and Akira stepped to the left. Right, she was blocking the door. There was something off-putting in the way she spoke, as if she didn't like Akira. Her bangs covered one eye, and she was dressed in an oversized hoodie, so maybe she was just some aloof teenager. Kids had no respect these days. "Are you waiting for someone?"

Now or never. "Looking for someone, actually. Do you know Kaneki?"

Something, almost imperceptible, in her eyes shifted. Defensive. "Yeah. What do you want with him?"

"Just want to ask him some questions, that's all." She went for casual, but her words were chosen to sound like an investigation. Honestly, she couldn't help it, but then the girl shifted her weight and dropped eye contact and Akira began to wonder if she _should_ be investigating. "For a friend."

"He's inside. His shift doesn't start for a while, but he hangs out here." She became compliant, but it was too late. Akira was already suspicious.

"You're a waitress, I'm guessing?" At the others nod, Akira smiled. A smile was always disarming. "Is the coffee here any good?"

Not a lot of people knew about the coffee thing. The girl had a good poker face, but everyone had a tell. "It's good, for coffee. Personally, I like the lattes."

Lies. But Akira just kept smiling. "Maybe I'll grab one before I head out."

"I can do really good art. Just ask for me." But she didn't give her name. Smart. The girl pushed open the door, allowing Akira to enter before her. What had she stumbled into this morning? She didn't have to work until 4 today, and here she was. Damn. Heading to a table, the girl gestured for her to sit. "I'll go get Kaneki."

Akira nodded politely, crossing her legs and leaning back in her chair. The girl would probably warn any other ghoul in the vicinity about her, if Akira was correct in her assumptions. No need to cause a panic, though.

What did that mean for Kaneki?

"You asked for me, Miss?" Akira looked up at the shy inquiry. Kaneki, dressed in a too-large sweater with the whitest hair she'd ever seen on someone under 40. He was holding two cups of coffee, one a latte, the other black. Not good. She feigned a smile, more confused than anything. Hide's soulmate...

"I'm Akira." She supplied as he sat, sliding her coffee across the table to her. Recognition flashed in his eyes, and his smile became less obligatory and more genuine.

"Ah, it's nice to meet you!" And then he stammered, eyes widening, as his smile slipped. "Is Hide alright?"

She waved one hand dismissively, noting offhandedly that he was _very_ adorable. "He's fine, I'm just here on his behalf. You two are fighting?"

He flushed. "W-well, I wouldn't say _fighting_." He grew quiet, and something in his posture was almost… fearful. "I just don't want him to…"

"I understand. Even though I'm not connected to him like you are, he's family to me." She tried to keep from getting sentimental, but the thought of Hide, torn to pieces, eaten alive, gutted, speared, smashed… "He's all I have, now."

Sighing, Kaneki took a drink of his coffee. "I'm sure he'd appreciate you doing this, but I can't accept this transfer. I wish I could explain, but I can't even tell _him_. Not yet."

"You're scared of 11." Akira guessed, and his shoulders tensed. Bingo. "I would protect him; he wouldn't be alone-"

His voice sent chills up her spine. "You have _**n o. IdeA**_ **-** "

He closed his eyes, with a breath that turned into a shudder. "Forgive me. I… yes, I have a history with that Ward and a very good understanding of what the CCG is up against and trust me _the odds aren't in your favor_ , Investigator."

Something heavy settled low in her stomach. All at once, she remembered the girl's behavior at the door. She wasn't protecting herself, or the patrons.

She _was_ protecting Kaneki.

Which meant that he was a…

He was-

"Akira-san?" Their eyes locked. He spoke softly, and sounded a tinge frustrated. "Oh, dear. Well, maybe we should talk somewhere more private. I'd hate to cause a scene."

She nodded once, and he stood, taking her coffee for her. They went off to the side, down a nondescript hallway. Thank God she always carried a gun. Kaneki held the door open for her, and she wondered if his face would be the last thing she ever saw.

She'd been betrayed.

She felt horrified.

But, most of all, she was disgusted with herself. For not noticing earlier. For not killing Kaneki now. For not wanting to kill Kaneki ever, because it would _hurt_ Hide, possibly physically as well as mentally. Hide was his goddamn shield. Her weakness for her partner had become a ghoul's greatest advantage.

"I can only imagine what's going through your head." Kaneki said ruefully, setting their coffees on a small end table. "I shouldn't have slipped up like that- I _really_ don't want to kill you."

Akira swallowed. She'd never been so defenseless, Jesus. "If you try, I can fight back."

He held up his hands, like a surrender. "I assure you, it won't come to that. Hide told me that you were the most responsive to his question- that is, you would be likely to accept a ghoul who is deserving of your respect."

"What makes you think I'd like you?" Kaneki took a seat, and looked at the wall just past her head, thinking. After it was clear that he _wasn't_ going to try anything, she sat opposite him, keeping the tension in her body. Her adrenaline made her alert, but she was at a disadvantage here, surrounded by ghouls and with no way to discreetly call for backup. Kaneki probably knew this. He had nothing to fear. Did _she_? Akira stared hard at him, until he could bring himself to meet her eyes. They were brimming with emotion.

"I… _try_ … not to be a monster. It's hard, when you're dealt a horrible hand, to play a good game. Sometimes, you have to break the rules." Kaneki paused, taking up her coffee cup to pass it to Akira. After a beat, she reached over and took it. "I have a lot of rules, personally. One of them is to never hurt anyone who isn't deserving."

"Oh." Akira was sort of dumbfounded. She held her coffee gently, and took a sip. It really was pretty good. For coffee.

Kaneki's smile turned cruel, for an instant. "That doesn't mean I'm merciful. It's kill or be killed- and it's better to learn that early on."

She nodded, very slowly, mulling over his words. His neutral mask slipped back into place. It was scary how natural it looked. "I can't trust you. I… can't. I understand what you're saying, and how hard it is for you, but it's also hard, when you're human, faced with an opponent that is stronger, faster, and hungry. It's also kill or be killed, for us. So, no. I can't _bring myself_ to trust you."

Kaneki nodded, and sighed, but she snapped her hand up, palm out. "But I trust Hide more than anything. And he trusts you- you're his damn _soulmate_ , God, fate really screwed you two over."

"It seems that way. We manage." Akira rolled her eyes, and Kaneki snorted. Like, kind of grossly. "Well, we try as best we can. Thank you, by the way."

"Don't thank me. It's not like I have a freaking _choice_." She muttered, but Kaneki laughed again, so he must have heard. _He_ was certainly happier. _Must be a huge weight off his chest_ , she thought, and then, _Was Hide ever going to tell me_? She asked Kaneki, while she had the chance. It looked like he was getting ready to go back to the cafe.

"He wanted to." He said, rising out of his chair. He popped his back, and the cracks were audible. "I wouldn't let him, until he made sure that you would be on our side. He'd be devastated if anything happened to you because of him. Looks like he had nothing to worry about."

His phone buzzed in his pocket, and he smiled down at the text. "Hide?" She guessed, and he grinned.

"I miss him." He whispered, shooting back a reply, then he glanced at her. "Sorry. It's just weird, being so distant from him…"

"I wouldn't let anything happen." She vowed, gently, remembering his reaction earlier. His lips turned down.

"You don't know that."

"Then help us. If we know what to expect, if we're prepared- do all you can, to help us, and them the rest is up the chance."

Kaneki groaned. "I don't like to take chances, especially not with these stakes."

Akira paused. "What if you came with us."

"What, like a bodyguard?" Kaneki took both of their cups. Their hands brushed as he did so- his fingers were under room temperature, almost like a corpse.

"I feel like you already watch out for Hide _here_ , which is dangerous, what if- ohmygod. _Eyepatch_?"

"What gave it away?" Kaneki asked, ruffling his hair. She didn't want to find that funny, she didn't, but _God_ he reminded her of Hide.

She collected herself, and pressed on. He didn't miss her lapse, though, she knew. _Hmmph_. " _Anyway_. Yes. Just think about it, and make up with Hide, for his sake. Your secret is safe with me. But I'm doing this for _him_ , don't think we're friends or anything."

"Wouldn't dream of it, Investigator." He promised, and waltzed to the door. He held it open for her, and they walked in silence down the hall and back out to the main part of the building. To her dismay, Hide was already out there, and she could feel his eyes boring into her as she and Kaneki went to the table he was occupying. Kaneki went to return their cups, leaving Hide and Akira alone at the table. The silence was awful and awkward, the air thick with tension. Hide's sudden, long-winded sigh nearly made her jump.

"What is going on, Akira? You aren't _meddling_ , are you?" At her silence, his head lolled back. "Akira, I'm a grown adult. I can handle this, though I appreciate the thought-"

"I _know_." She said quietly, and he rolled his head back up suddenly, knowing what she meant. He didn't even breathe. "You could've told me."

"You're taking it well." Hide was trying to keep his voice level- God, he was _scared_ , and she instantly wanted to smile, make him at ease, but this was more serious than that and their friendship couldn't take precedence for once.

"All things considered, yes, I am. I'm… disappointed." He hung his head, again, but looked up at her through his bangs that were getting too long for her tastes. "And I'm not completely sold. But the way you _talk_ about him- he's your soulmate. You- you can't help destiny. I can't blame anyone for this so I don't know who to be _mad at_ , for Christ's sake. But this isn't your fault, or his- and… and as much as literally all of my lifelong conditioning says, he can't help what he is or what he has to do."

Hide started breathing again, and he started fidgeting his hands under the table. He laughed once, more nervous than anything. " _Thank you_. You know I love you, right?""

She knew, oh, she knew. But she didn't let him know that that was the first time she'd heard those words in a _long ass time_. "You owe me, too. Don't think you're off the hook, mister. This sucks for everybody."

"Glad to see I didn't completely ruin _everything_." Kaneki sighed, taking a seat on Hide's side of the table. He had returned their cups, and laid his palms flat on the table. "I do believe we have some discussing to do."

Hide seemed to gravitate closer to Kaneki, turning his chair in. She knew the feeling. "What even _happened_ , man? I thought we were gonna plan this out or something."

"Accidents happen." Kaneki waved a hand, taking a second to brush it over Hide's cheek. Were they even aware of how _nauseating_ they were? "Regardless, I've decided that _we_ are going to the 11th Ward."

Hide tilted his head. " _We_?"

"Kaneki can come with us." Akira answered, leaning forward towards the pair. She shot a small smile at the ghoul. _Ugh_. "I came here to fix your relationship, and _ta-da_. He and I reached a compromise. You work, he watches. That way, he won't have to sit here and worry. Now, _why_ he's so finicky about 11, that's not a story I think I should hear. I'll leave you to it."

Kaneki's glare rivaled one of her best, and she felt a twinge of sympathy for him. Probably shouldn't have set him up like that, but honesty made a relationship work. Or something. She could tell that whatever happened to Kaneki was deep, deeper than just bad. If he was going to face whatever trauma he had to deal with, he _had_ to at least tell Hide about it first. She was just looking out for them.

Akira stood, and waved cheerily as she exited. She had a few hours to kill before work…

Maybe she could call Seido. If she could be friends with a ghoul, she could befriend her ex. _Ha_.


	15. Chapter 15

Hide glared at Akira's retreating back, only half meaning it. He was so, _so_ grateful to her, of course, and happy that the truth was finally out there on the table and she had taken it in stride. But, but. Kaneki looked like a deer caught in headlights, poised and frozen in front of Hide. He'd been put into an uncomfortable situation, backed into a corner and Hide _knew_ that he had terrible anxiety about these things and he could practically _feel_ Kaneki's heart racing in his own chest. Plus, he'd just dodged a bullet with the whole Akira ordeal (and despite himself, Hide feared that she was going to the CCG right now, perhaps Kaneki's doomsday mindset was rubbing off on him).

He broke the tense silence. "You don't have to-"

And at the same time, "I'm sorry that I-"

They both quieted, waiting for the other to continue, and neither spoke. Hide couldn't help his snort, and Kaneki's lips twitched. This was ridiculous. They were _soulmates_. And they needed to talk about this, before they dove headfirst into the hotbed of terror that was the 11th Ward. Hide went for reassurance, not willing to push Kaneki to speak. He would just retreat further into his shell. "Whatever you say, I'll still love you, you know that."

"Yeah, I know." Kaneki was muted. "It's more for my sake. And even if you… I mean, this isn't…"

"You can take your time." Hide suggested, and Kaneki nodded once, jerkily. After a pause, he continued. He couldn't look Hide in the eye.

"I can't tell you everything. I'm sorry, but I-" his voice shook, and Hide wondered if this was worth it. Damn it, Akira. "I still can't deal with… some things."

"I just need to know the basics, so that you can be safe. Don't say anything that you don't want to."

"Right, right. I, uh… A while ago, I was… kidnapped, by- by the ghouls of 11."

"Why?" Hide couldn't help it. Why would they target Kaneki? The ghoul looked at his hands on the table, and didn't answer. A story for another time, then.

Kaneki cleared his throat. "I was… kept… and tortured. That's, uh, why my hair is white. And why my nails are black. Trauma. And why I have nightmares, mostly."

Something must have shown on his face, because Kaneki's quiet voice faded into nothing. His eyes were still unwaveringly trained on his hands. Hide swallowed. "I'm… sorry."

"Not your fault." Kaneki whispered, and then shuddered. His posture was stiff, and his voice was low as he continued. He sounded dangerous. "After a while, I built my strength up… enough to escape. Anteiku had taken out some of the outside guards and we slipped away. And here I am. Most of me, anyway."

Kaneki shrugged, and finally met Hide's eyes. They were steel, cold and hard. "I'm not better because of it. I didn't 'rise out of the ashes'. I'm messed up. God, I wish I could have met you years ago. You would've liked me better."

"I love you _now_." Hide protested. He was trying not to cry. He was experiencing a tidal wave of emotions. If that was the Cliffnotes version, he'd hate to hear the full story. He was gonna kick 11's _ass_.

"And I love you." Kaneki's eyes softened, back into clouds on a rainy day and wool sweaters. "Anyway."

The mood lifted a ton, and Hide let that conversation sift to the back of his mind. "We have a date to get to, yeah?"

Kaneki smiled (it was weak, and maybe a little forced, but Hide more than made up for it with his own grin) and flagged down a waiter. Kaneki would be okay.

They would be okay.

oOo

"So, Seido, are you ready for 11?" Hide asked listlessly, leafing through a few drawers in his desk that Seido was leaning on. The other scoffed.

"I don't think it's possible to be 'ready' for something like this." It had been just over a week since the simultaneous fallout of his and Akira's relationships, and even though _his_ situation had improved, and Akira had made efforts, Seido was still obstinate in his decision to remain distant. Strangely enough, his intolerance of Suzuya had waned in comparison. They didn't seem to be dating, but there _was_ such a thing as platonic soulmates. Hide hadn't bothered to ask Seido- it wasn't really his business. The only reason he noticed was their desk proximity. He wondered if their desks would be adjoined in 11 as well.

"True." Hide finally shot back, and Seido smiled ruefully, grabbing his briefcase and pushing his chair in.

"I still have to pack, so I'm clocking out early… if Akira asks." Hide elected not to comment on the awkwardness, and nodded. He pulled out the file he wanted, passing it into Seido's hands. "The case files you wanted me to read?"

The drawer closed with a click. "Yeah, if you have time. Just… have an open mind, mmkay?" Seido shrugged and slipped it under his arm. The reports were over unusual ghouls, and their human like behavior, and Hide wanted to prompt a better understanding of the species to Seido.

He and Akira decided that they couldn't really handle the weight of _ghouls with souls_ on their own, they needed more people in their corner. Hide was tasked with Seido, because the likelihood of Akira getting through to him was bar none. Instead, she went after Amon, who seemed to have a surprising weak spot under all that bravado. And it was doing her good to spend time with him- he loved looking across the office and seeing them in somewhat pleasant conversation. Even if Amon couldn't accept Akira as his soulmate, it looked like he'd take her as a friend.

So. Seido was his work in progress, Amon was being slowly lured into friendship, and they'd be leaving for 11 in less than 48 hours. Everything was looking up, going well, for once.

oOo

Juuzou let Shinohara steer their lunchtime conversation, mind elsewhere. He had spotted a file under Seido's arm, and swiped it before he could leave to pack. The other had taken it back with a thinly veiled smile, but not before Juuzou could get an eyeful.

"...and so, she said to me-"

"What do you think of ghouls, Shinohara?" The question obviously caught him off guard, not something Juuzou could do easily. The older man leaned back slightly, chair creaking.

"I suppose you're not going to tell me why you're asking…? Yeah, okay. They are a threat to the human population of Tokyo, of course, but that's not what you're looking for."

Juuzou smiled, pleased with his partner's unprecedented understanding. Most would brush him off. Many would assume the worst of him. Shinohara, in stark contrast to the cruel world he has come to accept, tries to see past the surface- not that he thinks there's anything of worth there, himself. "Right."

"It's a sensitive subject. Do I think they they're good? No. They are a curse to us. Because they subsist off of our death, we are doomed to be enemies. Now. There are some that are crueler than others, and perhaps there are those who are kind, on the surface. But the fact will always remain that for every person that ghoul spares, he must devour one." Shinohara said, quietly enough so that they wouldn't be cast into suspicion. "You?"

"Seido had a couple of reports, over ghouls that exhibited overly human-like behavior. Whether it was their conscience or self-preservation… Shinohara, if there are kind ghouls in this world, then I've never met them, and I doubt I will. They either hide amongst us, or get killed by their own kind for being weak."

oOo

"Has Suzuya seemed odd to you lately?" Hide bustled to his usual table, Akira in tow. It was the day before departure, which would be tomorrow afternoon, and they were at Anteiku to make sure Kaneki was ready. "He was staring at us all after lunch. I would've asked Seido, but he went home early."

Akira waved at a waiter, and then turned her attention to him. "I didn't notice, but I can call Seido tonight. I've been meaning to discuss some things, so."

She grimaced at his teasing smile. Smartly, he held his tongue. "And Amon? How're things with him?"

"Fine." She sighed, and Hide could already hear that the ice around her heart was melting when it came to their relationship. Good, great! "He's admitted that he knows ghouls aren't mindless, or evil- at least, by choice. I think he'll be on our side."

"Who's on our side?" Kaneki dropped a kiss on the top of Hide's head, and pulled his chair over to sit next to him.

"My soulmate. It's… complicated, but he has a good heart." Akira answered, and gave their orders to that waiter. He smiled, nodded, and was off.

"It helps that he can't resist you, yeah?" Kaneki grinned, and Akira snorted. Hide winced a bit- he'd told Kaneki about Akira's misfortune, but clearly he was spoiled by Hide's very obvious adoration.

"You know what they say about assuming. He was in love with someone else. Used to be a real asshole to me, and I only made things worse by getting angry." Akira explained, reaching to her side and huffing.

"They're getting closer though, _right_?" Hide tried to waggle his eyebrows, but he probably ended up looking mildly constipated or confused. "What's wrong?"

"I forgot my purse." She muttered, and then glared Hide down. "And Amon and I are hardly friends, don't get your hopes up. I'm sure not."

"Not to worry, Akira, gentlemen always pay. Put these on my tab." Kaneki said to her, and then to the waiter as he came over with his tray.

"Sure thing, Kaneki-san!"

"You have a _tab_?" Hide chuckled after he left, cupping the warm mug in his hands. Kaneki shrugged, half-smile gracing his lips.

"It comes out of my paycheck. A lot of us depend on the coffee here- you know those brown sugar cubes at my apartment?"

Hide hardly even noticed Akira sighing across the table as he leaned into Kaneki's space. They were in their own world again, which got on his partner's nerves. Oh well. "Yeah?"

Kaneki smiled wryly. "They're another preemptive measure. Stir one into coffee, get a little less hungry. Don't know what's in them, I've never asked, but they work in a pinch."

Hide couldn't help making a face. "And that's why we keep our coffee stuff separate."

"If you two are finished. Kaneki, you need to be near the CCG building when we leave. We'll pick you up, because. Well. You can't come in, of course-"

"Actually, I, uh, can. Don't ask how." Kaneki interrupted quietly. "It would probably make more sense for me to meet you and say my goodbyes publicly, as Hide's soulmate. It would divert suspicion and give me the best cover possible, I think. And then you sneak me into a company car."

Since when could a ghoul bypass their preemptive security measures?! "Wait, Kaneki, can- can _others_ get in like you can? You said not to ask how, and I won't, but I also can't let all the people in that building be at risk."

Kaneki shook his head. "Just me. I promise."

"Alright then, let's go with your plan. You realize if you get caught, Hide gets fired and thrown in prison, right?" Akira said, and Hide winced. He was too pretty for jail.

"I won't get caught." Kaneki said smoothly, taking a sip of his coffee.

"...have you been inside the CCG?" Akira asked, and Kaneki put his cup down, completely straight-faced.

"I'm not answering that, Investigator."

The bell chimed behind them, but it could hardly be heard over Hide's disbelieving scoff. "And you haven't been to visit me. For shame."

"I don't have a _death wish_ , last time I went I was wearing a wig and everything." Kaneki explained, and Akira at least had the decency to act like a Ghoul Investigator, unlike Hide, who continued to be amazed by the enigma that was his soulmate.

"Oh my _god_ , Kaneki you can't just say shit like that in front of me I have an obligation to report-"

"Akira?" She jumped in her seat and Hide's eyes snapped to the man behind her, a small but functional purse held out in his left hand. "You forgot your purse and I don't know how but I knew you were here so I just-"

Hide could feel Kaneki's tension. Akira turned a bit in her chair, unable to quite mask her happiness to see him despite the circumstances. "Amon! Thank you so much, I wasn't really worried anyone would _steal_ from me but my phone's in there so- so thank you. Very much."

Amon nodded, and he actually smiled at Akira as she took her bag from him. Kaneki seemed to know him, and Amon would probably recognize the ghoul, so it was good soulmates kind of enraptured each other. For once. Hmm, maybe if he stayed quiet, Amon wouldn't even notice Kaneki.

Akira's lovey-dovey gaze turned calculating, and Hide understood her intentions a second before she spoke. _Not here, are you crazy-_ "Hey, remember what we were talking about earlier? At work?"

If it was possible, Kaneki became even more tense. Akira finding out was already more than either of them bargained for, and it wasn't _her secret to tell_ , but he couldn't say anything without giving it up himself. He just hoped Amon wouldn't catch on, and worst case, he kept quiet. He still remembered the pseudo-threat to take the life of anyone that could jeopardize Kaneki or his friends.

"...Yes." Amon glanced nervously at Hide- as if _he_ were the dangerous one here. "And I still maintain my opinion."

"Good. Maybe you should sit down, then." Akira said pleasantly, and Hide's heart jumped in his throat. Kaneki's adrenaline spiked. Both of their hearts were racing- this was no place to test Amon's loyalty. How to tell Akira that, though? She didn't have a direct line of instinctual communication with either him or Kaneki. She couldn't sense this _panic_. Under the table, he felt a cold hand reach for his. If they stayed calm, they could figure this out. Probably.

Amon sat gingerly, barely sparing a glance for the two men across the table. Hide felt relieved for about .2 seconds, and then the other Investigator did a double-take, staring down Kaneki with a passion. "What-"

"Hide." Kaneki said, lowly, and stood. Fuck. _Fuck_. "Tell your friends to meet me in the back. You know which room."

He was trying to sound tough, but his voice was laced with tiredness. Hide could feel how exhausted he was of keeping up this facade, of dealing with the CCG all the damn time. "Okay. Uh-" Kaneki slipped away, and Hide felt his confidence waver. Akira had just put all of their lives in jeopardy. Realization struck her- she'd been blinded by the compulsion of her soulmate-, and she sagged like a puppet with its strings cut. "Let me- explain a few things."

"No, wait." Amon was quick to interrupt, now cold eyes never leaving Kaneki's retreating back. "This is- he was-"

"Amon, please, you've been so receptive." Akira murmured, regret pitching her voice lower, almost pleasing. "Just hear us out."

Hide held his breath, but Amon said nothing. "Kaneki and I are soulmates. And he's… I mean, Akira's told me that you believe differently than most."

"Soulmates." Amon said incredulously. "And while I do 'believe differently', that doesn't mean I'm going to thrust my life, Tokyo's safety, hell, _your_ safety, into the hands of a complete stranger."

"Then come and talk to him." Hide urged, "And then you can decide if you want to side with us."

"Side with you for what?" Amon asked, more to Akira than him. He'd probably be more receptive to her anyhow, so Hide just fidgeted to himself.

"I'm not sure myself- justice, maybe? While I fully endorse our work, we tend to look over the subject of humanity in favor of cutting down anyone different than us." Akira sighed, pushing her coffee cup away and standing. "We just need a minute. Kaneki is rough around the edges, but I like to think he's a good person. And _don't_ you tell him I said that, Hide."

Hide couldn't help his smile, taking a moment to cross his heart as Amon struggled with his deliberation. "And if I choose not to join you?"

Neither of them had an answer for him.

oOo

In the end, it was all a simple matter, really. Hide had no reason to worry.

Apparently, this was not Kaneki and Amon's first meeting.

"Your hair was black, I remember." Amon chuckled. He was leaning against the wall, preferring to stand as the others took the three chairs in the room. "And you were in a hoodie or something. I kept thinking, 'who is this _poser_? Why would a human want to impersonate a ghoul?'"

Kaneki shrugged. "I _felt_ like an imposter. I was nowhere near comfortable in that situation. I was beyond desperate, too- I just needed to get to my friends."

"You begged me not to make you a monster." Amon said quietly, and Hide watched Kaneki's face carefully. He closed his eyes.

"I remember." Kaneki's voice was barely there. "It's harder, now. And it's going to be especially difficult going to 11- knowing what I know. As… _changed_ as I am. I'm not the Kaneki you met, but I'm still asking you to give me the benefit of a doubt here."

Amon's eyes rose to the ceiling, and he drew in a long breath through his nose. "You're not a monster."

Kaneki laughed, the one that made Hide's stomach feel heavy. That made him want to spirit his soulmate away to somewhere safe, as far away from his demons as possible. "And how do you know that?"

"Because you're still trying." Amon said simply, finally returning his gaze to the ghoul. "Despite everything, you're still trying."

oOo

The office was buzzing with activity as the Investigators swept into their new posts to replace those going to 11, papers shuffling, chairs rolling, drawers banging. It was absolute chaos, which, of course, helped hide the convoluted and completely illegal business of getting Kaneki into the CCG. Hide was to remain at his desk, fixing it up for whatever peppy newbie took his place while Akira escorted a rather distraught Kaneki into the office to say his goodbyes. Phase one had been completed, as Kaneki told him over text, that is, Kaneki was in the CCG safely. Okay, a ghoul inexplicably was inside of the CCG, and everything was fine. Nothing had exploded. Yet. Yeesh, he really needed to work on his chill.

Akira was already in the lobby, able to casually overhear that Kaneki was looking for her partner. He would be here any minute now, and then he could sneak away around the back to leave unnoticed. All he had to do was flash a few badges, cross his fingers, and they would be home free.

"Hide?" Kaneki's voice easily cut through the office chatter, and he looked up to see him stroll in with Akira at his side. Hide went to meet them, and he felt the eyes of his coworkers on him as he did. The hype of his soulmate had died down since its start so long ago, but this was bound to be dramatic.

"Kaneki. You came all this way to see me off?" Hide smiled, according to plan, and Kaneki mirrored it- for a moment. And then it wobbled, and the other's eyes filled with tears.

Apparently Kaneki had been an actor, once. "Yeah, I'm… going to miss you."

The office was now stiflingly quiet, but all Hide had to do was respond. It was simply natural to wrap Kaneki in his arms. "It's okay- I'll only be a phone call away."

"Right, I know." Kaneki buried his head into Hide's shoulder, and Hide slipped a keycard into his pocket. That would get him where he needed to go. "Have you got everything ready to go?"

Hide hummed and led Kaneki over to his desk, where Seido was waiting curiously. "So this is Kaneki. Pleasure." Seido took his hand, and they shook once before he turned back to his own desk. He only had one more drawer to clear before he could leave.

"Likewise." Kaneki murmured, and Hide casually directed his attention to the map that was carefully unfolded on his desk. Their bodies blocked anybody's nosy gaze, and he pointed out a few locations, especially noting where Kaneki was to meet them and how to get there. The ghoul took a few precious moments to commit it to memory, and then Hide swept it into a junk folder with a soft exhale.

"Say, Kaneki, where did you get your hair dyed like that?" Seido asked idly, gathering pencils and pens into a case. Hide froze, but Kaneki just shrugged, movements fluid and expression guileless.

"Hide and I get our hair touched up together at a few places. Having dyed hair is inconvenient, especially when our hair is so dark and we went light."

Seido snorted. "Bad time for that color, you know."

Kaneki rolled his eyes. "I try to think of myself as innovative. White hair is dramatic, I didn't even consider the ramifications."

"I think it makes him look like an anime protagonist!" Hide butted in cheerfully. "I like it."

Akira rescued them from any more stifling conversation. "Kaneki, it would be best if you let us finish up our business. Hide can call you when we arrive."

"Oh, of course. I didn't mean to be a bother." Kaneki quickly pulled Hide into one more hug, and mustered up a smile. "Be safe. All three of you."

Seido raised an eyebrow. "Of course. We're the Mado Squad."

oOo

They had only an hour to go before departure. Kaneki was supposed to be hanging out in the garage, keeping out of sight- something that he was frighteningly good at. All the transfers had been put into place, goodbyes had been said, etc. etc.

So why in the world were they having a board meeting? Most of the high-ranking Investigators were being herded into a large conference room for purposes yet unknown. Hide couldn't help but be anxious. Was there some sort of complication in 11? Had there been a change of plans? There were whispers and speculations flying. Nobody knew what was going on. In record time, everyone got settled into their chairs and prepared to listen intently to whoever was leading.

"Good afternoon." Kamemochi, the branch director, quickly drew everyone's attention with his booming greeting. To have the director himself take immediate control of the meeting belayed the severity of the situation. "Something dire has come to my attention, and I tire of keeping you in the dark about the goings on of some of the CCG's operations. I am here to comment on the rumors of ghoul infiltration of the CCG."

Hide's heart leapt into his throat, and a glance over at Akira showed him that she was not any better. "Are there ghouls working for the CCG? No."

 _What_?

"Will there be? We hope so."

The room was so silent that Hide swore he heard hammering heartbeats. "The CCG has been entertaining the idea of _living quique_ \- tame ghouls that work in our favor to take other ghouls down. There have been many failed experiments… but one success."

Suddenly, the Investigators exploded into chatter, remarks on ethics, morals, safety. Hide couldn't think past the horrible feeling that stirred deep in his stomach. The director waited until it was passably quiet once more, and then confirmed Hide's worst fear.

"Eyepatch, AKA, _Kaneki Ken_ , has finally returned to us."


	16. Chapter 16

Hide's blood roared in his ears, and his chest grew uncomfortably tight. The only thing that kept him grounded was Akira's hand reaching for his, an offer he gladly took. She was shaking.

"A few nameless Investigators brought a conspiracy to me, the idea that some of my best had been fraternizing with the enemy, so to speak. All involved will be pardoned, do not fear. But, Kaneki-san's return to the CCG marks a new era. With him in captivity, we can improve our efforts and create more like him. Mixing enough ghoul into a human to be effective and yet safe is difficult. You see, it is not an easy process. Kaneki-san, thankfully, had been injured at a convenient enough time for us to seize control of his operation, and mold him into the new modern weapon- half ghoul, and half human. So I would like to extend a thank you to those who encouraged him to come here. Even now, we are resuming our experiments. This is for the continued protection of humankind. Thank you."

The director bowed, and left the room. Numbly, Akira pulled Hide to his feet and back into his office. Some words were exchanged. He couldn't bring himself to pay attention.

 _Half-human._

 _Experiments._

 _His fault_.

"Hide. Hide?" Akira's shook him gently, and he finally focused. "They've suspended us. We're not going to 11." Her voice was flat.

He blinked. "What?"

Akira's eyes shimmered briefly with sympathy. "You must've been spacing out. We were taken aside… Seido ratted us out, to put it simply. I think Juuzou put him up to it, but…"

"Kaneki." Hide breathed, and Akira winced.

"I know. I- we'll do something. They-they have to have him somewhere, right? If we-"

"Akira! Hide! This whole sector of the building is on some sort of probation!" Amon burst into the empty space, loud and livid. Akira stood taller in his presence, immediately drawing from his anger. Hide still felt disoriented and detached.

"We're aware." She said mildly, though her grip on Hide's hand tightened. He hadn't even noticed that they were still doing that.

Amon moved closer to them, glancing backwards over his shoulder. "What they've done… is unforgivable." He said, in just over a whisper. "I can't align myself with an agency that would so eagerly destroy someone's humanity in _the name_ of humanity."

Akira spared Hide a glance, then her eyes locked with Amon's. "I agree. We need to find some way to stop this horror show from progressing any further…"

"No one will believe this." Hide finally spoke, sounding dead to himself. How could he be living? His soul was jeopardy, and it was his own doing. "That's why they told us."

Akira huffed a curse, and finally relinquished her hold on Hide's clammy hand. "You're right. Damn it." She looked between the two men, worrying her bottom lip. "Then the first thing to do is rescue Kaneki."

Hide looked up sharply. He would say it was impossible, but up until a few months ago he would have also said that having a ghoul soulmate- no, a _half ghoul_ soulmate- was impossible. Kaneki seemed to be built for defying explanation. "Where would he even _be_?" He croaked, and Amon narrowed his eyes.

"Cochlea, of course. In the 23rd Ward. Underground- it's the only place suited for keeping a ghoul of his rank." He sounded disgusted at the thought of the ghoul prison.

"And how are we supposed to get the clearance for that now? We're blacklisted. Traitors." Akira pointed out, and Hide's stomach twisted.

"We need a distraction."

oOo

Touka didn't need much convincing.

"We have to wait a day so that the most adept Investigators leave for 11- there's much less risk that way." Hide explained as the female ghoul seethed.

"Leave Kaneki in that _hellhole_ while they do _God knows_ what to him?" She spat at him, and Banjou laid a hand on her shoulder. Most of the Anteiku ghouls had assembled in one of the back rooms at his urgent request. They stood against the far wall, Touka forward, Banjou just behind her. Hide, Akira, and Amon faced them in a similar position.

"Hide _does_ have a point." Nishiki said dryly, and added, "I'm not doing this just to go against you. It's _practical_."

Akira found her voice. "Besides, Kaneki is their template. They can't touch him, and I doubt he'd let them anyway."

She didn't flinch, even when Touka's accusing stare bored into her. "I'm not just worried about his _physical_ state. He's already volatile. You don't what he can be like- how bad he can get. There are worse things than physical pain, _Dove_."

"Like seeing all of your friends thrown in jail with you or killed in front of you? _Because_ of you? If anything happened, he'd blame himself." Hide came to Akira's defense, and Touka finally dropped her aggression. Her shoulders were trembling. They both knew that Kaneki needed no more blood on his hands.

"Sister, it's going to be okay." Hinami said. "He's stronger, I think, than we give him credit for. Hide's really helped." He blushed at Hinami's indirect praise.

"Regardless of personal opinions," Yoshimura stepped forward, gesturing for Touka to claim his spot, which she did so reluctantly. Banjou nodded his respect and let the manager have full attention. "What the Investigators are suggesting is the best course of action. Hide-kun, if you can, plan out the path of least resistance. We don't need to lose any more than we already have. I've heard that a successful raid on Cochlea is next to impossible."

"Of course." Hide nodded. With the number of employed professionals low, it wouldn't be hard to find access to Cochlea. "All Wards are experiencing major overhaul with this offense on 11. I'm sure there's some place in the CCG building that mans the RC scanners, and if there's any security left in 23 they'll be focused on Cochlea. We can get inside as employees and disable them, and then you can come in and help us find some sort of entrance-"

Amon interrupted him. "I can get into Cochlea. I have access… for personal reasons. My pass should still work. Then, only problem is the guards. Kaneki will most likely be on the third floor, and under strict watch. He'll also be full of RC suppressants, so he'll be weakened."

All of the ghouls were silent, listening with rapt attention. Touka still looked displeased, but Hide could see that she understood. There was a shared undercurrent of concern, a thirst for action. This was Kaneki's family, and Hide realized that they must have taken him in after the- the operation. They'd been there for him, and they wanted to be with him now.

And that they would do anything to get him back.

"One condition, please." Hide said slowly, unsure of how the others would react. "We can't kill anyone unless _absolutely necessary_." Despite what the CCG had done, some employees were just trying to make a living, and they were still human beings. They didn't get to call others monsters and then slaughter them without mercy.

As expected, there was a murmur of protest, but not outright opposition. Nishiki was uncharacteristically fond when he spoke. "Of course. Kaneki would agree. Though, if we find anyone who had _anything_ to do with hurting him, I'm tearing them apart myself."

Amon and Akira had the decency to look unnerved, but Hide accepted the compromise. Maybe he was a bit _too_ desensitized to the goings on of ghouls. Akira cleared her throat. "Okay. Sounds like we have a plan, then."

Yoshimura nodded with a small smile. "I would like to thank you personally for your cooperation. You give me hope that my efforts for peace are not in vain. If I may ask, what are you going to do about your suspension?"

"Oh, well, we can still go to 11. We just won't be backed by the organization." Hide answered coyly, and Akira raised an eyebrow.

"Are you suggesting we just bus ourselves over to the fight and jump in?" Akira scoffed, losing her respectful tone to deal with her partner.

"Well, not straightaway. But if we wanted to- and besides, I doubt any of us want to work for the CCG anymore." Hide sighed. Amon and Akira's stony silence showed that they agreed. Hide shrugged. "I've always wanted to do something in the social sciences…"

The ragtag group didn't waste more time on idle chatter. They hammered out all the details. Tomorrow, after Hide called to give the signal that he disabled the RC scanners, the ghouls- Touka, Nishiki, Tsukiyama, Banjou, Yoshimura, Koma ( _the Devil Ape_ , wow), Kaya Irimi ( _and Black Dog too?!_ ), and Hinami, after deliberation- would either enter the building or stand guard in set places around the area, and wait with getaway vehicles and emergency supplies. Amon would get the few _lucky_ ones inside Cochlea after incapacitating any Investigator that got in their way. Then, Hinami would lead them in a search around the prison, hopefully without encountering any major issues. Finally, they would break Kaneki out either by force or by, uh, _coercing_ a guard. Hide just kept telling himself it would work, that Kaneki would be safe.

Because, and he hadn't told anyone this, he'd only let it fester in the back of his mind with worry, he couldn't feel Kaneki at all. Couldn't get a read on his emotions, couldn't sense his location, nothing, _nothing_. He was empty.

oOo

By the next day, they had hopped Wards, over to 23. Thank god that news of their betrayal hadn't reached the borders yet. Apparently, there were all sorts of exploits for ghouls to bypass the Ward boundary security, which made him sorta uneasy, but it made things smoother for the rather large number of ghouls they were harboring. For now, they were on standby with Akira, waiting for Hide's signal. In no time at all, the operation was underway, and he and Amon were on the search for any way to inhibit the scanners.

The few milling about in the 23rd's CCG branch lobby were friendly towards Amon, who apparently frequented the building. They paid no special mind to the young blonde with him, other than cursory, abject curiosity. It was busier than their headquarters, as 23 was a far more active Ward than 20, but most of the personnel were simply Bureau workers. As predicted, the better Investigators had been shipped off to 11. An oblivious, but very helpful intern pointed them to the main control center, buying their story about routine maintenance. The single security guard in the hallway, quite a ways from the actual room, struck up a conversation with Amon, and that was enough to get Hide beyond the doors.

Hide kinda expected something out of a sci-fi flick. Being in the field lended no opportunity to work out the fine tuning of the CCG, including the technological. The area was poorly lit and kept, probably because it wasn't used often. Any ghoul, or human, for that matter, dumb enough to directly attack the building was dealt with swiftly and easily. Which wasn't comforting to him in that moment. There was one part of the boards and blinking lights that looked extremely complicated and detailed, and Hide could only assume that it manned some part of Cochlea.

After a bit of snooping, and squinting at faded labeling, Hide found the main security controls, comprised of a series of sliders, screens, and buttons that he had no idea how to operate. Damn it, he knew it couldn't have this been easy. All of the building's security depended on the machines in front of him. One wrong press, and he could shut off vital functions that would lead to, at the worst, them being found out. All he wanted to do was turn off the stupid RC scanners, or at least lower their functionality.

At last, upon close inspection, he found that the slider switches each had tiny stickers that hinted at their purpose. Hide quickly found the one that read "RCS", crossed his fingers, and clicked it down until the light directly above it went dark. He held his breath, waiting for security to bust through the door and catch him red handed, but nothing happened. Thankfully, when he cautiously slipped back through the door, the guard's back was still to him, and Amon was still prattling on about something or other. He nodded, and Hide flashed him a quick thumbs up. Amon excused himself, and joined Hide's brisk pace as they set off down a hallway that would take them to another entrance, this one less used and therefore perfect for their purposes.

It was a large room, like the other lobby, but there were only a few interns running papers and coffee. They wouldn't even notice the gaggle of strangers passing through the now non functioning scanners, which were emitting no usual signs of operation. _Success_. With a new hope in his heart, and a silent reassurance to Kaneki that he wasn't even sure hit home, he shot off a text to Akira.

oOo

Akira jolted at the buzz in her hand. Tensions were high, and she'd never been more anxious. She and the assembled Anteiku ghouls were casually perusing the shops and things near the CCG, spread out to seem inconspicuous. However, with a quick predetermined signal (of course they were watching her in their peripherals- she was doing the exact same) they flocked to her, one by one.

In vain, Akira tried to remember all of their names and whether all were present. All she could think of as she scanned their faces was if she had fought any of them before, if she had lost a teammate at their hands. Without Hide as a buffer, her innate tendencies, instilled by being her father's daughter for so long, began to whittle away at what she now knew was _right_. Reality aside, she couldn't set aside her suspicion, and she had a grinding feeling that they were aware of that. All she could do was hope that they understood.

The group remained fractured to a degree, but as Akira pressed toward the CCG, the ghouls were sure to follow leisurely and discreetly. The Black Dog, the Devil Ape, the burly, bearded ghoul, and the one with the purple hair went off to sentry duty as she led the others around to the back entrance, where Hide said he'd be waiting. Just inside the glass doors, she could clearly see that the RC scanners had been shut off. Her heart lifted with pride in her partner, before it deflated as she realized the severity of his crime. Of _their_ crime. This was no time to be distracted by joviality. She nodded to focus.

"Okay." Subconsciously, Akira looked to the right and to the left, but the only living soul other than her and her conspirators was an elderly door guard that wasn't even paying them any mind. One flash of her badge and they'd be in, no questions asked. "Amon and Hide are inside. Once we get into the prison section of the building, then- and only then- can we drop our guard and go on the offensive. And remember, no killing."

"We're not idiots." One of the ladies said bitterly. She was tense, the one who had been so anxious to get this show on the road. "Hide's already told us everything we need to know. Let's _go_."

Akira bristled, but she made no comment. Instead, she breathed through her nose and turned her back on the ghouls. This was for Kaneki. This was for _Hide_. And like it or not, these ghouls were her friends in this situation. They proceeded to the doors, and the guard finally started. He looked them over, and Akira tried a pleasant smile. The man's squint softened from accusatory to curious.

With a practiced ease, she pulled out her badge. "We have some business to attend to, sir. If you don't mind."

He waved a hand, beckoning, and adjusting his glasses as he scanned her information. "Mado. It's an honor. What're you doing back here?" He handed her the badge, and she put it away, ignoring the uncomfortable squirm at the reminder of her legacy.

"I was closer to this side of the building, and the people I have to see work near here. These newbies back there-" she jerked her head slightly to the group behind her, who were waiting with bated breath, "would probably hold me up if they got distracted by the busier side of things."

The old man laughed gruffly. "I know what you mean. Got a rookie shackled up to me on the weekends. That kid's head is constantly on a swivel, asking a million questions a minute. Don't give Mado-san too much trouble." His eyes never left Akira, so he couldn't see that many of the "newbies" we're a bit out of typical interning/freshly hired age, or notice their lack of response. He pressed a button to his left, and a door unlocked noisily. "You're free to go."

She nodded her thanks, and held open the door as the feisty one took a few confident steps forward. Hesitating only a fraction of a second, she passed through with no issue. All of the worry left the remaining ghouls, and they proceeded single file. Akira could hear Hide greeting them, smile in his voice. She could almost feel his relief, his exhilaration, at being one phase closer to her soulmate.

Speaking of which.

"Akira!" The first thing she saw when she opened the door- or rather, the first thing her subconscious noted, because her mind was whirling with their improbable success- was Amon's soft grin, paling in comparison to Hide's sunshine-bright spectacle, yet somehow all the more compelling. Now that they were friends, she had gotten the satisfaction of being closer to him, and getting to know him beyond the few angry spats they had over the years.

Everything he did had a certain subtlety, and she prided herself on being able to understand him on that deeper level. So she instantly saw what that slight upturn of his lips meant. Not simply happiness, but _relief_ , and _accomplishment_ , and _content_. As she walked towards him, her guilt for somehow shaming her father, for spitting on his memory, faded, and she was filled with his sense of satisfaction.

His smile twitched up a notch, as if he were aware of the exchange, and proud of it. "Amon." She allowed herself a smile for him, quickly, before they got back to the matter at hand. No, she wasn't exactly _overjoyed_ at the thought of being strictly platonic with him, but with their new relationship came respect, and she respected the bars on his heart as they were. Even if she never got the key, even if her faded counter never renewed itself (would that even be possible?), they would be happy and together, at least.

"Are you ready for the next step?" She asked quietly, aware of the few people milling about. His smile slipped, and something dark clouded his eyes. For some reason, she felt a pang of fear, and a swell of bittersweet nostalgia.

"I suppose I have to be." He shrugged, and reached into one of his pockets. "I'm sure you're wondering…"

"It's fine!" She was quick to quell his unease. If there was a secret he wasn't ready to share with the rest of the group- and besides, as a high ranking official, she _did_ have a clue as to who would be waiting for him in that prison- she wouldn't ever try to force it out of him.

His smile returned, fleetingly, and his hand twitched at his side as if to touch her, but it remained stationary. "Thank you. Ah, I think we should get a move on, then. That Touka-chan looks fit to burst."

She heaved a sigh, nodding in understanding. The name resonated with her memory of the very angry ghoul, and she instantly knew who her soulmate was referring to. "I know what you mean." In tandem, they exited their bubble of _them_ , and approached Hide. With one look at their faces, his joy simmered down into seriousness. Amon would take it from here.

oOo

Touka found it hard to convey her burning frustration at the sluggish pace of this supposed rescue mission to these dense as all hell humans. For all that Hide talked himself up, for all the preening he did about being Kaneki's new _number one_ , he had no _fucking clue_ as to how much _her_ best friend was suffering as they ambled along. The dark-haired Investigator was now leading the way, which ruffled her. He put on a lot of bravado, but nervousness buzzed in his blood, just under his well-kept exterior. At least she knew that Hide was nearly as desperate to reunite with Kaneki, albeit blind to the extent of his existential torment, and as such led with an admirable urgency and, admittedly, Kaneki-like skill.

The skin under the static numbers on her left wrist twitched. She hoped she never got so invested in her soulmate that she would lose herself. Hide had stolen Kaneki, stolen his ferocity, his _fight_. He had _tamed_ the half-ghoul, ruining all the effort and training that his friends had instilled in him to protect him in this shit world. For all she knew, he was strapped to a table somewhere down below, listless and weak, waiting for his fucking Prince Charming to rescue him instead of busting heads and taking names like she _knew_ he could. And yeah, he hated getting his hands dirty, but bottom line Kaneki understood that when push came to shove he had to do what he had to do to protect what mattered.

And damn it, Kaneki _mattered_.

So she marched obediently enough behind Yoshimura down the seemingly endless hallways to Cochlea, holding Hinami's hand, because she had to do what she had to fucking do.

oOo

Everything smelled weird here, artificial and strange. It only got worse as they neared their destination. The only thing that kept her anchored was her sister's hand in hers, even though her grip was kinda tight. Hinami kept her eyes on Hide's blonde head of hair, mistrustful of both the strange lady and the other man with her.

They both smelled like her parents' death, something that she'd rather not think about.

So she focused on the color of dandelions and the smell of spring and spice and everything that made Hide alluring but _off limits_ , of course, as were all customers at the coffee shop. But thinking of Hide and the coffee shop made Hinami think of Kaneki, who was like a lost sheep that they had to find before his fur got all sheared off. She wasn't stupid- she understood that her brother was in serious trouble, but the metaphor (or was it a simile? An allegory? An allusion?) helped ease her nerves.

She also understood that if something happened to Kaneki, her family would once again be shattered, and that was something that she couldn't allow. Holding her head high, nose burning and heart racing, she dutifully followed Yoshimura-san and the three Investigators down so many twists and turns that she lost track. _Alice down the rabbit hole_ …

oOo

 _Damn that kid for getting mixed back up into this mess_. Stubbornly ignoring the fact that he was only a few years older than Kaneki, Nishiki berated the half-ghoul in his mind like an overprotective parent, coiled like a spring with every corner they turned.

Behind Touka, he'd be second to her attack, especially since she had the advantage of range, but nonetheless he was determined to get a few good licks on these bastards that kidnapped Kaneki. _No killing_ , he reminded himself sardonically, even though he knew Hide, or any of the ghouls, wouldn't actually stop him if it came to that. Kaneki understood when punishment was due, and if anyone deserved to reap what they sowed, it would be the shitheads who had the misfortune of fucking with Kaneki.

oOo

Finally, after an eternity of Amon's weaving and winding, Hide and Co. reached an obviously very restricted area that was completely out of place in the back of the CCG building. Amon had whispered to him that it had only taken so long because of where they entered, but Hide suspected otherwise. The three heavily armed guards seemed unsurprised at Amon's appearance, but of course, put off by the six accompanying him. They had left behind half of the Anteiku ghouls for a reason, because such a large group was sure to attract attention. Even now, they were pushing it, but Amon explained their cover story easily enough, and the guards eased up to let them pass.

Amon, Akira, and Hide stepped through the the cold entryway into what definitely felt like a maximum grade prison. The whole place gave Hide the heebie-jeebies, and he just wanted to get Kaneki and scram ASAP. Only, as soon as Yoshimura attempted to follow the Investigators, a red light flashed above the doorway, and the three guards had their guns out faster than anything.

Oh, god. The Cochlea controls had been separate from the main building's.

The RC scanners were fully operational here, and now _they_ were all dead.


	17. Chapter 17

Kaneki's hands brushed the red flowers swaying in the soft breeze. He couldn't remember slipping into unconsciousness, but he knew that it was better than the reality waiting for him if he awoke. A rippling flash of anger had him gripping the soft petals at his fingertips, and a few fluttered to the ground. His head was too fuzzy to accommodate such a strong emotion, though, so it was gone as soon as it came. The sky above him was grey and broiling. Where was the sun? Something pulsed at the edge of his mind, a memory, needles and fighting and the satisfying tang of blood. He shuddered, feeling cold hands brushing his shoulders, feminine lips caressing his ears with seductive whispers of death and power.

A stronger presence was just behind _her_ , cracking his knuckles and promising pain, and thunder boomed all around him, _inside_ of him.

With a jolt forward, Kaneki escaped the suffocating sensations, nearly tripping over a small body hunched over in front of him. His own gray eyes looked up at him accusingly from a face that was far too young.

"What are you doing here?" He couldn't help but ask, and the young Kaneki's eyes drifted to the two figures behind his older counterpart, unsurprised by their appearance.

Apprehensively, he answered. "Mom told me to stay right here, so I can't move."

The sound of the flowers being crushed under two pairs of feet set Kaneki's heart racing. Surely nothing good could come of being caught by _them_. "If we don't move-."

"We _can't_." The child said indignantly. "We would inconvenience Mom! You don't want to be a bother, do you? You don't want to disappoint her? She already has enough to deal with. Don't be selfish, 'neki."

The back of his neck prickled, but his mind whirled, then dulled, filled with cotton. "I-I'm not. I don't."

"Then sit. Accept it. It'll be okay, it'll only hurt for a little bit. It's for the best." The small Kaneki held out a hand, bruises running up and down his arms, patting the spot next to him with the other.

"It's for the best." Kaneki hummed, and sat. Six hands settled on his body, reaching, tearing, molding. Something clicked uncomfortably in his ear, and he shook his head to the side as much as he could when being strangled. A large centipede tumbled into a patch of dead flowers, covered in blood and what looked like cerebral tissue. He started laughing, small chuckles at first, but as the three around him disassembled him more and more, peeling away his skin, breaking his bones and gouging out his eyes, pulling his organs from his body, he couldn't hold back his borderline manic cackling.

oOo

"Last time he woke up, it wasn't this bad. He just kinda glared. It's a good thing we strapped him down. How long do you think he'll keep this up?" One of the doctors asked, eyeing the specially made restraints with suspicion. Kaneki Ken rebelled violently against them, but they held, and he slammed back onto the examination table with a bang that caused the newer observers to jump. The noises that escaped from behind his muzzle were absolutely inhuman, and his eyes- one a shocking black and red- were wild and unseeing.

"He hasn't eaten in awhile, if you don't count that chunk of flesh he got out of the poor guy that strapped him in, and we should get our improved tranquilizers sooner rather than later. Then, we can actually get started." Someone replied impatiently, scanning a few papers on her clipboard. "We just barely managed to get the drop in him to get him _in_ here. His body adapts to anything we do to it, drugs included. Thank God we have strong enough suppressors. His brain scans are crazy- here, look..."

"His healing factor could have wonderful medical implications." A well-dressed observer commented, pressed against the wall in reluctant fear.

"Kaneki Ken is currently only for the use of the development of CCG assets, but we can talk about cost later. Of course, these half-ghoul experiments will eventually lead to a liberation of the human race." The head doctor tutted, scoffing at the frailty of his own species, and reached out a hand to ruffle Kaneki's snow-white hair affectionately. The half-ghoul's head twisted away so fast that his neck cracked loudly.

One of the lady doctors glared reprovingly at Dr. Kanou, and he smiled sheepishly. "My apologies. It's just been so long, I wondered if he remembers me. I think he does!"

"Doctor, are our other patients making any progress?" The man's smile fell immediately.

"Mostly, no. Three cases _do_ look very, very promising, but there's no way to tell just yet. Why don't we go see, let Kaneki-kun rest a bit, hmm?" His hand twitched closer to Kaneki's head again, and an ungodly snarl echoed in the room. "Right. If you'll follow me…"

Kaneki was left alone, and the last one out shut off the lights and locked the cell door. As soon as the last person was gone, Kaneki arched his back in a way that would have killed a lesser man, and focused all of his energy on getting his kagune to break his skin. He had to get them out, out _out_.

He could feel them _crawling_ inside of him.

oOo

Hide stared wide-eyes at the three men pointing guns at Yoshimura, unsure of what to do. He could hear reinforcements making their way up to them. God, that buzzing alarm was really scrambling his brain. One man dropped to the floor, revealing red projectiles sticking out of his back like porcupine spikes, and he twitched once, then lay still.

"Don't worry, it's not fatal. I think." Touka said sharply, and then Nishiki was kicking the other two guards into the wall, knocking them unconscious. Touka's burning red irises flickered to Hide, accusing, and guilt seized his heart. This was his fault.

"Well, better get moving." Nishiki muttered, eyebrows low over his dark eyes, and Hinami stepped forward to try and catch Kaneki's scent. Akira and Amon were as frozen as Hide. They'd done their part- even though Hide had let them down- and so it was the ghouls' turn to handle things.

Amon shook his head, and cleared his throat. He had to shout a bit over the alarm. "He'd probably be on the lower floors, if you need to get closer."

Hinami looked back at him, her eyes still warm and brown. "That would be easier. There's- there are others. That smell like Big Brother here. Half ghoul, half human. I could always pick him out before, but now…"

Their hearts sank at the words, and Touka growled. "Fucking hell, of _course_. Where are the fucking stairs? You know what, fuck it." And she was leaping over the railing.

"Dammit, Touka." Nishiki frowned. "So impatient."

"Big sister!" Hinami cried, and then looked to the Investigators desperately. "We need to find the stairs, there are a lot of humans coming and I don't want her to be by herself!"

Amon nodded. "Follow me."

They all ran in one direction, Amon leading, Yoshimura and Nishiki on either side, and the others trailing closely behind. Soon enough, they were intercepted by a hefty number of armed men, quinque and pistols included. Hinami tugged on Hide's hand, and he took it. With her other, she grabbed Akira, who in turn reached for Amon, and they all recoiled back as Nishiki and Yoshimura let loose on the unsuspecting employees. Thankfully, the ghouls abided by Hide's request and left the men alive, but just barely, so that they wouldn't be a problem later. Neither side took fatal injury, the humans taking the brunt of the offense. Yoshimura was faster than Hide would've thought, and Nishiki was a brutal force to be reckoned with

Still, the sheer amount of blood spilled was jarring, and the group had to watch their footing in order to not slip on the now-slick floor, or trip over the prone figures. And the sight of Nishiki and the kind manager coated in red was not an easy pill to swallow. Hinami did not drop his hand as they skipped down flights of stairs, leaving only a trail of crimson footprints in their wake, no more resistance meeting them.

As they reached the floor that Kaneki would be on, according to Amon, Hide understood why.

" _Where is he, you bastards_?!" Touka snarled at the bloodied individual that she had pressed against the glass of an empty room. Dozens of men and women were unconscious at her feet, or pinned to the wall with kagune crystals, or curled up into pained fetal positions. The furious ghoul herself bore several steadily bleeding cuts, but showed no visible signs of fatigue. Amon whistled lowly, and Akira rocked back a bit as she took it all in. Hide couldn't help the sympathetic clench of his heart, until he remembered what they were keeping him from.

Hinami piped up, eyes locked on her sister. "Give me a moment, and I can find him."

Touka whirled, shoulders heaving with her fury. She nodded sharply, once, and dropped the guard. They were out before they hit the floor. Hinami once again took the lead, and was off down the corridor. The cells down here were mostly empty, but Hide kept his eyes forward just in case. This was an awful place to be, he understood. However, he couldn't afford to pity the emaciated ghouls locked away for good and bad reason both, couldn't afford to get distracted. He desperately felt for any kind of sign from Kaneki, but the line was still dead, so to speak.

Hinami slowed, and pressed her head against a cell, squinting into the darkness of it. As she did, a hunched figure crept forward to meet her, hair unkempt and fingers scrabbling at his face. Even as he was, in nothing more than a ratty robe and bandages, Hide's breath caught as he recognized the man.

"Seido." Akira choked out, and a mismatched pair of eyes focused on her with an intense sharpness at odds with his bedraggled appearance. Hide couldn't look away from the sight- only one eye was human. The other was- was _not_. "Oh my god, what did they _do_ to you?"

Amon shuddered with an exhale, whether from his own shock or his soulmate's, Hide didn't know. "Is this how they'll reward people from now on?"

"Is Juuzou with you? They won't let me see him anymore, after he tried to get me out, _hahaha_!" Seido said through the fingers in his mouth, muffled even further by the glass. In the low light, Hide could see that the skin around his counter had been scratched and… bitten. "If you find him, let me know!"

Akira's voice was thick with tears. "I-I will. Let's… can we go? Please?"

Hinami backed away, and continued in her search. "I'm sorry, Miss. I didn't-"

"It's fine." Amon pulled Akira against him with one arm, supporting her as she slumped to the side. Her soft sobs echoed against the metal walls. The ghouls all looked extremely unnerved, and Hide's stomach rolled with hatred for this backwards organization. It kept hurting the people that he loved, deeply and horribly.

Hinami held up a hand as she went to inspect another cage. "Let me check alone this time, okay?"

The others were painfully silent as she repeated her actions from before. Her shoulders hunched, and Touka stuttered forward a step. "So?"

"It's him." She said softly. "But. He's.. not well. I can smell the drugs they're keeping him sedated with. It's not enough. He doesn't _look_ like he's bad, but he can be unpredictable."

"How do we get him out?" Nishiki asked, looking to Amon. Determined, he pushed past the ghouls, leaving Akira next to Hide. Yoshimura drifted in front of Hide and Akira, turning to face them partially.

"Be aware that the Kaneki that comes out of that cell might not be your soulmate, the man you know." He informed the pair bluntly. "We will do all that we can to calm him, but even then…"

"I understand." Hide whispered, and Touka chuckled darkly.

"Do you?"

oOo

The door.

They were back.

How much time had passed? Minutes, hours, Kaneki never could tell. They couldn't keep him unconscious for long, so the amount that Dr. Kanou could work on him was thankfully limited. He was just the template, at least. He wouldn't be tortured like Rize, kept and taken from for the doctor's crazed experiments. Borderline delirious, he hardly understood what was happening, couldn't differentiate between friend or foe, so the first thing he did when the lights were flicked on was growl warningly at whatever doctor dared to put him under, even though he wasn't feeling particularly animalistic in that moment.

The suppressors that they gave him did not wear off easily, unlike the sedatives, so he had no real way to defend himself, but he wouldn't make it easy. He wouldn't go back to Jason's playroom, or Rize's cold embrace, or the dark abyss of his childhood willingly. Sometimes when he woke up from a nightmare, he was wild, and if he had the RC cells to manage, he was sure that he'd descend into _that_ madness like he had before, in 11. Now, he was somewhat rational, as he was awoken not by a doctor's knife ( _made from kagune, or course, the only thing that could cut him_ ) or the jarring terror of of his own mind, but the caresses of sunflower petals, the memory of soft lips against his, whispering for him to stay strong and sane and _good_.

Still, if he had the ability, he would tear these humans to pieces and find the _real_ Hide, who was probably suffering as he laid here, useless and weak and- The table he was on rattled as he jerked away from the approaching presence. Multiple voices, some in his head, spoke thunderously, and he let his eyes drift over to the person taking measured steps towards him. Usually, a team would rush in and hold him down to surprise him, knock him unconscious, but. But.

"Kaneki? Kaneki, can you hear me?" A girl, a _friend_ , said, and Kaneki jerked into full reality with heavy shudders. He called her name, Touka, _Touka was here_ , and wait, had she been captured? Kaneki's mind segued into fractions, and only her hands on his face brought him back again. "We're here, Kaneki. We're gonna get you out of here, just hang on. Are you all here? Nod if you understand me."

He managed a short bop of his head, displacing her cool digits for a moment. He let her ground him. _She_ was real. _The others_ were not. At least, he thought so. She let out a relieved sigh, chuckling through the beginnings of a sob. Fumbling with the locks on his bindings, he felt another set of hands join hers to work at them as well. He helped them by keeping as still as he could, ignoring the phantom crawling of centipedes over his legs, stomach, brain.

His eyes were finally, _finally_ able to focus, and he took in his surroundings for the first time. Touka. Nishiki helping her, Hinami just behind. Yoshimura and-

And all of the other people in the room disappeared as he met Hide's eyes. Rize and Jason backed away from the sunlight pouring into his head, into his veins, chasing the darkness further into the recesses of his subconscious. Something that the scientists gave him must have suppressed their connection, but having Hide this close to him overrode most of the things happening in his brain. Once again, he could feel the presence of his soulmate, reassuring and constant. Hide wobbled a bit, experiencing the same thing in reverse, and Kaneki wanted to shoot up and wipe the tears from his cheeks and hold him and-

"There." Touka said brightly, and Kaneki slowly sat up, rushing to reach behind his head and remove his muzzle, _a damn muzzle_ , seriously, how _demeaning_ , though necessary, judging by the metallic tang lingering in his mouth. His muscles cramped as they were moved from their previously static positions, and he had to freeze and grit his teeth against the sudden onslaught of physical pain, too used to the numbing torture of his mind. Once he felt less statue-like, he took Touka's offered hand and swung his feet over the side of his table, using her support to stand on his shaky legs. God, he was _starving_ too. Being experimented on and fighting both internal and external forces constantly was entirely too draining.

"I need-" The smell of blood was pungent in the small room, covering nearly everyone present ( _there has to be tons of people just begging to be eaten, Kaneki-kun_ , a voice whispered weakly), but he still wanted to rocket into Hide's embrace first and foremost.

Touka shushed him. "I know, I know, do you think you can make it out without-"

He shook his head slowly. She had assumed incorrectly. "No, no, _Hide_ -"

His soulmate jolted, literally shocked to hear his name on Kaneki's lips again. As if unable to help himself, the blonde made as if to run to him, but he ultimately stayed put, eyes locked on Kaneki's face.

No. On his eyes.

On his single ghoul eye.

Oh.

"No, Hide, I'm sorry-" Kaneki's words were slurred as he tried to think of what to say, how to explain.

Automatically sensing his confusion, and what he was trying to apologize for, Hide hastily explained. "The called us into a board meeting, I heard that you were- well... that you were _human_ once, I just. I can hardly believe it, even though your eyes… And it's my fault that you were even caught, God, I'm so _stupid_ , you must hate me! What they've done to you, what they're _doing to you_ -"

" _Are you kidding_?" Kaneki laughed outright, startling everyone in the room with the loud noise. He tried to quiet himself, but he didn't know how successful he was. Judging by the nervous stares, not at all. "If anything, you should be mad at _me_. And I don't hate you, I love you. Silly Hide."

Suddenly tired after his burst of energy, he leaned on Touka a little, who was watching him like he wasn't to be trusted, which made him laugh harder. For some reason, this whole situation really tickled his funny bone. Yoshimura approached him, looked into his eyes, gripped his chin. "Kaneki, I think you might need to take a nap now."

Kaneki shrugged, and he couldn't keep up his smile much longer. Maybe the manager was on to something,but there were things… he had to… and the nightmares… But Hide was the only one in the room who didn't look afraid that he was a time bomb ticking down, even smiling at him ( _because he's never seen you at your worst, not like I have_ , Jason said ruefully, but he sounded pained and faint).

"C'mon, 'neki. Let's go home, okay?" He suggested, and Kaneki let himself drift into sleep, afraid of his demons no longer, now that his light had returned.

oOo

Kaneki's eyes shut and he fell forward into the manager's chest, who wound his arms around the dead weight with the tenderness of a father. A small heave, and minimal jostling, and Kaneki was held bridal style by Yoshimura. He nodded his head forward, and all of the ghouls exited at once. Akira and Amon trailed out after them, but Hide stayed until he and the human were the only ones with the unconscious Kaneki. Smiling softly, he let Hide walk next to him at the back, not commenting on the way Hide could hardly keep his eyes to the front. He knew the power of a soulmate's adoration all too well, after all. With that thought in mind, and the half-ghoul cradled in his arms, he resolved to get to 11 one way or another.

oOo

There was no resistance as they ascended the stairs from the hell that was Cochlea. Hide stumbled once or twice, eyes locked on his soulmate as they were, but the kind manager just stopped with him as he got his footing. The lobby that they had first entered what seemed like days ago (in reality, it couldn't have taken _that_ long) was suspiciously empty, probably the result of the security breach. As he and Amon were the only ones unscheduled to be here, they were probably already pending suspects.

Wait. They weren't alone.

Touka's wing-like kagune manifested from her shoulder, and Nishiki and Hinami tensed. Hide stared from his position in the back, hand twitching to Kaneki's own, hanging limply.

"Well, aren't you the lucky one." Suzuya smiled, though his voice was uncharacteristically brooding. The Investigator sat on an empty reception desk, still as death, save for bopping a single foot- the only sign of his anxiousness. His eyebrow rose at the obviously tense and distinctly non-human individuals splattered with red. This couldn't have looked good. His eyes, though, didn't linger on the ghouls, instead traveling to Hide's and Kaneki's joined hands.

A wave of sympathy rolled down Hide's spine, as he took finally note of the ticking numbers on Suzuya's wrist, and his words made finally made sense. _The lucky one_.

"Seido is still down there." Akira ground out, voice rocky from her earlier meltdown. She was hanging on Amon's arm like a leech, though he hardly seemed to mind. Before she could say anything else, Amon pulled out his keycards to unlock the areas of Cochlea, some likely stolen from the guards. Suzuya jolted once, then slipped off the desk. Akira straightened a bit, hating to be seen as weak, dropping Amon's arm. She wanted Seido free, and she knew that it wasn't _her_ that he wanted. Eyes roving over the three ghouls directly in front of him, Suzuya respectfully waited for Akira to make her move.

"They won't even let me see him." He said, childlike perma-smile stretching back over his features. "Shinohara's had to drag me out more than once. It hurts, here. Every time."

A hand pressed quickly over his heart, once, then fluttered back down to his side. Akira took the cards, face schooled into a careful mask of neutrality, and weaved around the ghouls' line of defense. They watched warily, and Hide made a note to thank them for being so cooperative, protective of someone that was once their enemy. "Shouldn't you be in 11?"

Suzuya's expression twisted into one of disgust. "And leave _him_? No. Shinohara's staying with me for now, so I don't do anything drastic. You beat me to the punch." As he took the cards, he squinted and pursed his lips. "You know, I wasn't going to mention this to anyone, but… 11 is a death trap."

"We know. That's-" Akira pitched her voice as if she were talking to a child. Kaneki's fingers twitched, and Hide adjusted his hold on his unconscious soulmate's hand, and did his best to calm his nerves.

"No, no. A _literal_ death trap. The Investigators being sent over are no more than meals on wheels for the gang over there, I forget the name, but it's huge and powerful." Suzuya went on to explain eagerly. "They couldn't send the Mado squad, so they shipped off another team for now."

They could've heard a pin drop in the silence.

"I overheard it in my snooping. Just thought you might wanna know. I'd watch your backs." With careful steps and three pairs of kakugan eyes trained on him, Suzuya edged past the ragtag group and down into the darkness. For a few minutes, they could do nothing but process what had been said.

"The corruption is worse than we thought." Akira croaked, Amon hurrying to her side. The motion cracked the terse stillness of the others, and they were quick to leave the building in a tight group, quickly reuniting with the sentries and getting them up to speed. The haunted feeling of Cochlea, and the flooring revaluation that Investigators at most were no more than pawns, it seemed, would stay with each of them for a long while.

oOo

Yoshimura took one last look around the bedroom, eyes crinkling in the corners as they landed on Hide. He'd pulled up a chair next to Kaneki's bed, to wait until the man awoke. "If there is any trouble when he wakes up, we'll be close enough. And when he thinks he's ready to move, just call. We need to lay low for a while, but putting him in an unfamiliar environment wouldn't be ideal."

"Thanks, Yoshimura-san. I appreciate it." Hide said softly, gaze never wavering from his soulmate. They were at Kaneki's apartment, as the location was unknown to the CCG. Hide's place would be one of the first they checked, but Kaneki had evaded the organization for months living here, so Yoshimura had deemed it safe enough to bring the half-ghoul home.

"You seem to exert a sort of damper on his insanity. He wasn't violent when he awoke, due to you, I believe, just extremely out of sorts. Good luck, Hide-kun. Remember to call."

"I will." Hide chucked softly at his overbearing parent-tone. The manager reached over to squeeze Hide's shoulder once, and then slipped away. Kaneki's face was peaceful in sleep, thankfully, and his chest rose and fell with deep and even breaths. _Good, he needs the rest_. Hide thought absently, leaning over to brush a few strands of white hair from his forehead. He noted with distaste that there was a dull dye of red in some parts, and resolved to have his soulmate shower after he ate. Fighting the roll of nausea in his stomach- after all, Kaneki was only a _half_ -ghoul- Hide went over what Yoshimura had said about getting the other to eat.

Understandably, Kaneki was averse to eating, and would be even more so with Hide in the vicinity, but it was a necessary evil if they were to spend any time together. Kimi's shoulder, the scar showing from under her wide neckline, attested to that. Hide drew his hand back and placed it in his lap, adjusting himself to be a bit more comfortable in the rather unforgiving chair he had chosen. Hey, Kaneki didn't have a lot of options, so he'd ended up with one of his rarely used dining chairs. It wasn't like he could've moved the whole couch into Kaneki's bedroom. Or could he…?

Kaneki let out a little huff in his sleep, as if bothered by Hide's ridiculous train of thought. Hide grinned. After what felt like forever in his waning patience, Hide was pulled from the book he'd taken off of Kaneki's overflowing shelf by the shuffling of covers and a prolonged whine as Kaneki stretched. Hide set the book on the nearest nightstand and watched carefully as his soulmate's eyelids fluttered open.

"Hide." he murmured, without turning his head, and Hide's heart jumped at the sound. God, it had only been a few days since they had last talked, hugged, but it might as well have been years.

"I'm here." Hide said, making sure to keep his exuberance in check to keep the steady calm from shattering.

"What happened." Kaneki's voice was free of any inflection, carefully monotone. Hide scooted his chair closer.

He took a deep breath, deciding to be as honest as possible. The other ghouls explained how Kaneki's brain tended to scramble, and that half-truths and sugar-coats wouldn't help anything. "When you went off to wait for us,,to go to 11, I guess the CCG recognized you and took you in. Before we left, and before we could find you, the director explained… he explained what they _did_ to you, and what they intended to do."

"I recognize that tone, Hide." Kaneki warned, finally turning to face him. "Don't blame yourself. I shouldn't have been seen so easily. I've made peace with what I am. I only hope that _you_ can accept me…"

Despite his flat tone, Kaneki's eyes were burning, and Hide quickly replied. "Of course, of _course_. I love you, you know that."

Kaneki nodded, satisfied, and some of the tension that had accumulated in his shoulders and hands, balled into fists under the covers, dissipated. He returned his eyes to the ceiling. "Alright. I love you too. Continue, please."

"We waited until we were sure we could get into Cochlea. Amon had access, so it wasn't that difficult, but we, uh, may be wanted criminals now." Kaneki's face twitched, but he made no comment. "A-anyway, it's not a problem, because Yoshimura-san is gonna take care of us. You should eat-" another twitch, "- and take a shower, and then we can talk more. You good?"

"Did I-" Kaneki's voice caught, and he cleared his throat, "- hurt anyone?"

"No, none of us." Hide promised, and Kaneki closed his eyes, sighing. "So, eat-"

"Hide." Kaneki interrupted. "I'm fine."

This was to be expected. "Kaneki, one, you can't lie to me. Two, you had a lot taken out of you. You need to get your strength back up. We're going on the run, and you can't be distracted by hunger. By- by _me_."

Kaneki was silent, and Hide wondered if he took it too far. Logically he knew that Kaneki would never hurt him, but he was still _human_ , and Kaneki only had so much willpower. His instincts, which had to be more prevalent when Kaneki fought, could overpower that will. As if to back him up, Kaneki's traitorous stomach chose that moment to growl. Hide snorted without meaning to, and Kaneki looked like he was trying to phase into the bed. His obnoxious laughter caught on, and soon they were both giggly messes.

"See?" Hide hummed, glad to have lightened the mood. "Listen, I _know_ what you eat, babe. It's just a fact. Nothing that you can help. I'll stay right in here while you eat, and then you can take your shower, and _I will still be here_. Promise."

"Fine." Kaneki grumbled, but life was coming back into his voice, and Hide smiled. The half-ghoul moved slowly, folding the covers back, and slipping out of the bed. Hide looked up at him from his chair, unable to keep his smile small. Kaneki's lips quirked up, and then they pressed to Hide's forehead. He muttered against the skin there, "You can move to the bed, that chair can't be comfortable," and then left the room.

oOo

The water finally shut off in the bathroom, and Hide uncrossed his arms behind his head and sat up. Kaneki had spent forever in there, though he had much to mull over. Shower time made for good thinking time, after all. The bed creaked as he shifted, bouncing happily. It _was_ more comfortable than the chair, and Hide had taken the liberty of borrowing a pair of Kaneki's sweats, leaving his bloodstained work clothes to deal with later. There was just something comforting about being clean and comfy, and the contended waves from Kaneki told him his other half felt the same way.

Speaking of, his soulmate stepped into the chilly air, towel tight around his waist, and shot Hide a small smile. Hide could feel that he was definitely in much better spirits, physically and mentally cleansed. He padded over to the bed, flopping face-first next to Hide. He said something that was muffled in the sheets, and Hide chuckled, hands moving to trace Kaneki's warm, damp skin. Another sound was lost to the bed, though Hide doubted it was a word.

Continuing up Kaneki's spine, over his shoulder blades, Hide spoke. "I want to know if it's okay to talk about something without-"

Suddenly, without warning, Kaneki rolled over, taking Hide's hand that was nearest and pulling the blonde over his chest, crushing them together. "No. No talking, just…"

Hide scooted up, maneuvering so that they were face to face. He waggled his eyebrows, and Kaneki puckered his lips. The blonde had to admit that, chest to chest like this, his soulmate begging with his eyes, the thought of meaningful discussion drifted further and further from his mind. "Alright. But we _do_ have serious things to-"

Kaneki's lips pressed to his, and the familiar fire of his soulmate's kiss swept through him like a biting wind, want seeping down into his bones. Hide was only minimally annoyed with being interrupted twice, honestly more concerned with getting Kaneki's tongue into his mouth without being too needy. And then Kaneki scraped his blunt fingernails up his back. Hide decided to _fuck restraint_ , and opened his mouth insistently with a gasping moan. Kaneki complied, and Hide greedily took in the taste of minty toothpaste and _Kaneki_ , relishing in the feel of his soulmate's wandering tongue. They kissed until their lungs were fit to burst, and then some. Kaneki separated them to nuzzle at Hide's throat, where his pulse beat the strongest.

Hide moved his lower half to better accommodate the both of them, legs ending up on either side of Kaneki's torso, the other's thin towel doing _nothing_ to hide the arousal pressing against Hide's ass. The blonde let his head drop to Kaneki's chest, peppering kisses on his collarbones, as they rocked together slowly, breathing in the scent of Kaneki's body wash. One of the half-ghoul's hands, trembling just slightly, settled in the divot of his back, encouraging, the other reaching to tilt Hide's head back up.

"I thought I lost you." Kaneki rasped, and Hide bit his lip. The blonde leaned back into Kaneki's shallow thrusts, eliciting delicious curses from his soulmate. His stomach burned, pulsed, with growing need, Kaneki's own slipping control fanning the embers.

"Yeah, same." He whispered, heart beating furiously, "but I'm here now. We're together, yeah?"

"Mm." Kaneki huffed, once. Hide was reminded at once just how strong Kaneki was as he, with the one hand on his back, moved the entirety of Hide's weight up effortlessly to claim his lips once more. After a few moments of chaste appreciation, of breathless nose bumping and _love_ , Kaneki once again took advantage of his physique- and _god_ did Hide love that physique- to maneuver the both of them up higher on the bed. Kaneki sat against the headboard and settled Hide down into his thrusts again, nipping teasingly at his ear, the tender moment was over.

With a renewed sense of urgency, soon they were both naked, hands everywhere, on the _very_ side of _desperate_. The towel was a trivial matter, already slipping away, and Hide's- read, Kaneki's- pants were shimmied off and tossed aside without any wasted effort. The skin to skin contact was wonderful in every way, electrifying, even. Scrambling out of Kaneki's lap, Hide trailed a spit-slick finger down his soulmate's chiseled chest, stomach, hips.

"God, yes," Kaneki breathed as Hide's wet hand worked over his cock, and the blonde smirked up and his soulmate. Hide let his eyes travel from his face to where his hand was twisting and teasing, thinking. His thumb swept over the head of Kaneki's cock, taking the precome there with it, and then rolled his wrist to meet Kaneki's hips as they canted up into the feeling. Hmm.

"Hey, can I try something?" Hide asked conversationally, gripping the base of his soulmate's dick for good measure, and Kaneki clenched his eyes shut as his hips twitched. Hide waited, and Kaneki finally nodded, unable to formulate a verbal response. God, Hide loved this. And he was gonna _really_ love this…

He shimmied further down the bed, watching Kaneki's face carefully as he brought his head down to experimentally lick once up the underside of the cock in his fist. Kaneki let out a curse and his eyes snapped to Hide's face, and the intensity he saw there nearly blew him away. _Ha_. Along with the fact that one was dark as pitch, with a blazing red pupil. Kaneki always tended to cover his face during stuff like this, whether by burying his face into the bed, or Hide, or simply bringing a hand up to his face. And this was why, Hide supposed. Probably something to do with the adrenaline.

He was so beautiful.

Instead of saying so, he let their connection speak for him, returning to his earlier pursuit, going for it full force. To the best of his ability, Hide took Kaneki's cock into his mouth slowly but surely. The noises he was getting out of Kaneki were more than encouraging, garbled swears, _Hide's_ , and _yes don't stop please-_

There was something about the pressure at the back of his throat, nearly gagging him, and Kaneki's unraveling control of his hips that really turned Hide on himself. But it was the hands in his hair, shoving him down with inhuman force, until he could do nothing but swallow around Kaneki's cock, that had him desperately rutting against the sheets, panting out of his nose. Kaneki released him too soon, though, gasping apologies.

"No- no, don't-" Hide was already hoarse, jesus, and he used the hand that was uselessly lying against Kaneki's pelvis to replace his mouth, fast and filthy. "I, heh, like it rough, remember?"

"Hide- _ah_ , but I could, _fuck_ -" Kaneki's shame was whittled away as his half-formed apologies trailed into wordless sounds, and tentatively, a single hand returned to Hide's head.

The blonde hummed approvingly as he sucked at the tip of Kaneki's dick, hand keeping the pace. Kaneki pulled lightly at his hair, and Hide used his tongue to swirl around the head, teasing the slit as a reward. Kaneki gasped his name one final time, and that was the only warning he got before his mouth filled with the salty taste of come, surprising, but not altogether horrible.

Hide sat up, watching Kaneki tremor with aftershocks, and looked down at his own cock. He swallowed, finally, and it twitched against his stomach. "Mm. So, Kaneki, could you," Hide started, and Kaneki was kissing him before he could finish his sentence, hand pumping furiously. It didn't take much time at all for Hide to tip over the edge, nearly biting Kaneki's tongue as white spattered his stomach and dribbled into Kaneki's fingers.

"Th-thanks," Hide said, sagging against Kaneki heavily with a sigh, shaking like a leaf. He wanted nothing more than to curl up with his soulmate and nap for a while, but the cleanup had to come first.

Kaneki brushed a hand through Hide's hair and down the side of his face. His kakugan was still activated, but Hide could still see the tenderness there, matching it's grey counterpart. "I'll go get a washcloth."

"'Kay." Hide yawned, and Kaneki rolled deftly off of the bed. "Oh, and about earlier. You don't have to be so worried about me, you know. I _do_ like it a little rough."

Kaneki paused on his way to the bathroom. "Well, I don't know if I can temper myself to _a little_. I'm a lot stronger than you, and I don't want to-"

"What, scare me?" Hide scoffed, and allowed himself a smirk. "Would it be bad of me to say that I kinda think the ghoul stuff is kinda hot?"

"Th-that's-" Kaneki, flustered, waved one hand dismissively, and went into the bathroom. "You're a mess," Hide heard, faintly, and the blonde snickered.

"I'm just saying, we could probably put those tentacles to good use~" he lilted, and the distinct sound of Kaneki either dropping things or knocking things over in embarrassment prompted a real bout of laughter. Yeah, they had serious stuff to get to, but it was nice to pretend that everything was fine, and that they had all the time in the world.


	18. Chapter 18

"So, what you're saying, is that the CCG is even more fucked up than we knew it already was?" Hide's head rose and fell with Kaneki's chest, vibrating slightly as he spoke. After cleaning up, they'd thrown on pants and laid down to snuggle. Before they could sleep, though, Hide wanted to make sure that Kaneki was up to speed.

"Yeah. I mean, the whole thing with you is awful, but apparently, working with half-ghouls isn't enough. We don't know why, but apparently the CCG has ties to that gang in 11." Hide confirmed what they knew, wrapping his arms tighter around his soulmate.

"Aogiri." Kaneki supplied, and then sighed heavily. "So, what are _we_ going to do about it?"

"Well, once you feel well enough, we should call Yoshimura. I think he wants to join the offensive on 11, but against the CCG. There are a couple of squads that don't know what they're gonna be dying for, too. If we can save anyone innocent…" Hide thought of that squad that had been sent in his team's stead. They were all ignorant pawns, and Hide wouldn't let them die for nothing.

"So noble." Kaneki murmured with a smile.

Hide shrugged slightly. "Hey, it's my job to protect humanity from the monsters. I just don't think that's you guys anymore."

oOo

The ghouls of Anteiku were all in hiding, unable to reopen the shop because it was one of Hide's most frequently visited places, and he was a wanted man. There wasn't anything in the news yet, probably because it was all hush hush, but the CCG wouldn't sit idly by and let Hide trample on everything they've been working for. It took a few hours to get everyone together. Eventually, they'd decided to meet in a dingy downtown warehouse that was easy enough to break into.

"Y'know, without you, I would've never been to any derelict place like this. I'm way too sheltered." Hide commented as Kaneki helped him navigate the space, darkened by the boarded windows. " _This_ is real adventure. Ken and Hideyoshi, exploring the- _what was that_."

Kaneki paused as Hide latched onto him. Naw, he wasn't scared. It was just very dark, and the wood made old settling sounds, creaking and whatnot. Very spooky. "Ah. It's just the others. This way."

They'd finally decided to call Yoshimura, after Kaneki's, _uh_ , prolonged recovery. As fugitives, they moved largely at night, but the other ghouls had been waiting out for a while, as they couldn't have all converged here at once without drawing curious eyes. Soft light finally broke the inky darkness, a lamp hooked up to a tiny generator. There was also a heated carafe of coffee, and a garbling radio.

Touka stood first, and Hide stepped a little to the side as she hugged Kaneki. "I'm glad you're okay. Quit getting hurt, dummy. Some of us worry."

"I'm trying." Kaneki sighed, hugging back tightly. With one arm around his shoulder, she led Kaneki to the loosely gathered group around the generator, and Hide trailed behind. He wasn't gonna object- he'd had Kaneki to himself for a few days, and these were Kaneki's friends first and foremost. He was just an accessory, the numbers on Kaneki's wrist. Touka drew Kaneki down to Yoshimura, and Hide decided to give them a moment, pausing uncertainly. He'd let them down at Cochlea-

"Hide-kun!" Tsukiyama smiled up at him, waving him over. Well, maybe he _did_ have a friend or two, he guessed. Hide settled in the space between Tsukiyama and the Black Dog- Irimi, who nodded politely at him in greeting. "It's been quite a while. Oh, your roots could do with some touching up, if only you weren't running from the law."

"Yeah, darn. Because my roots are priority number one right now." Hide snorted, and Tsukiyama grinned in that way of his that would inspire fear in his prey. "Maybe I should try a different color. You know, to throw off the trail." Hide couldn't find it in him to think anything weird of discussing his literal possible capture and execution. No big deal.

"Absolutely! Maybe it could be longer, too. I know a really nice conditioner for pampering your hair while growing it out."

"This is _exactly_ why your hair is always amazing, Shuu."

"Flatterer."

"Big brother Hide!" Hinami said from across the circle, and a few chuckled as she bounded over and shoved herself in the barely there space between him and Tsukiyama. "They're talking about 'grownup' stuff over there. Don't you think I'm grown up enough?"

"Oh, of course. Look at her, Shuu. She hardly fits between us. In fact, I think you might be _too_ big." Hide wheezed from his cramped spot, apologizing to Irimi with his eyes as he encroached on her space. She just smiled good-naturedly and resumed her conversation to her other side.

Hinami was sheepish. "Oh, sorry." She moved to sit in front of them instead, so that the three formed a close triangle. They talked for a while about this and that, Kaneki, what they thought about 11. Hinami actually had a few meaningful points to make, which he was quick to tell her. Tsukiyama agreed, and she beamed.

Someone on the other side of the room whistled, and all heads turned to Yoshimura. Hide followed suit. The manager got to his feet, clearing his throat. "After careful deliberation, launching a direct attack on the CCG forces in 11 seems far too risky. It has come to our attention that the organization has allies there."

The room broke out in uneasy murmuring. Kaneki met Hide's eyes briefly, before refocusing on what was being said. "Instead, I propose a covert infiltration and subsequent destruction of any and all parties designated as enemies, paired with a simultaneous liberation of innocent persons. We leave tomorrow night. That's all."

The manager bent down to exchange a few more words with Hide's soulmate, so he delved back into speaking with Hinami and Tsukiyama. The purple-haired ghoul's lip was curled in distaste. " _Merde._ What a dreadful affair. And this is coming from _me_."

"Who are we gonna rescue?" Hinami wondered, picking idly at her clothes. "If you ask me, no one over there is worth saving. Anyone who works with the people that hurt Kaneki deserves what's coming to them."

"Seconded." Touka grumbled from behind Hide, and Kaneki rolled his eyes. With a few scooches, the triangle widened to accommodate the two.

Kaneki held Hide's hand as he spoke to Touka on his other side. "While I appreciate the sentiment, everyone is innocent until proven guilty. We know Aogiri takes prisoners."

Even so, Kaneki's tone didn't quite match his words, as if he'd love to tear anyone in Aogiri apart, regardless of innocent casualties.

The rest of the night passed relatively languidly. The atmosphere was surprisingly chill for what essentially was pre-war. Hide supposed that it was better to save energy for fighting and whatnot, to keep a level head, but it made the tense buzzing in his bones feel unwarranted. He eventually fell asleep against Kaneki's chest, comforted by his steady heartbeat and low murmuring. When he woke, there was fresh coffee, of course, and fervent discussion. He contributed what he could.

Hide knew the routes taken by Investigators, routes that he _would've_ taken had he not been suspended, and it was decided that a straight shot down through 15 and 12 would work best, avoiding populated areas and the stream of Doves. While everyone else was prepping, he called Akira and Amon to fill them in on the plans. All three of them were linked to the break in at Cochlea. It was agreed that the CCG had to be exposed, and so they would each blend in with one of three groups. Akira was tasked with picking up their quique, and any extra weapons she could find before nightfall. Amon would monitor the radio and signal if anything was compromised, or if any pertinent information came up.

Night fell.

And so the mission began.

oOo

Everything was always easier in theory.

Hide wasn't sure how Amon and Akira were doing, because the CCG's radio network had been cut off, most likely to prevent the squads in 11 calling in for help. The process was also slow going, as they had to take roundabout paths to avoid any and all hazards. It was frustrating and tiring, and they were blind. On top of that, Hide was paired with Kaneki and Touka, who were hosts unto themselves.

Kaneki, as they got closer and closer to their goal, became anxious and fidgety. Not that Hide could blame him in the least, but the constant finger cracking was unpleasant and distracting, as was the suffocating whirling of his mind that Hide could sense. And Touka was her usual self- seething with rage. Out of the three of them, she was the most battle ready, overzealous in her desire to deliver payback. Everyone was harried and grumpy by the time they met back up again just outside the borders of 11, a day later than planned, because the sun had risen during the travel of their extensive routes.

"Is everyone alright?" someone whispered as the group huddled together, nothing more than indistinguishable shadows. A murmur of assent rumbled in response, and the next few moments were spent in silence. It was quiet, save for breathing and the distant sound of footsteps. They were safe, for now. Hide let himself breathe a little sigh of relief.

And not a moment too soon, because suddenly the footfalls were a hell of a lot closer. And if Hide could hear them-

The ghouls peeled out of the darkness one by one, leaving only the Investigators behind. Even so, Hide readied his quique, willing to help if necessary. The sounds grew closer, and it was not an army of Investigators, or the surly caricatures of mobsters that Hide had sort of imagined Aogiri grunts to be. No, two girls, twins, came to meet them, cloaked in matching hoods. Hide really thought nothing of them until they slipped their hoods back, revealing a single pair of kakugan between them.

"You've created quite a stir, brother." The one with the white hair lilted, unblinking.

"And Father said you needed to be stopped." The other finished, cloak billowing in a sudden wind. Goosebumps ran over Hide's skin. The two couldn't have been any older than him, than Kaneki. "We can't let you interfere with his plans any longer. Don't you see? We will usher in a new age of humanity. _We_ are the next step in human evolution."

The ghouls and three humans remained completely immobile, listening, sensing, watching. Human evolution? Whoever this "father" was appeared to be insane. What'd he'd done to these girls was nothing but monstrous Hide's heart was pounding. Could he kill these girls, knowing that they were like his soulmate? That they were as human as much as they were ghoul?

And if he couldn't, would he be able to stomach abetting their murder? His chest was tight as his mind warred with itself. Kaneki was no better, sending clear signals of conflict over their bond.

"There's no need to fight. This war is between us and those working with Aogiri. Dr. Kanou, as horrible as he is, is the least of our worries right now." Kaneki finally spoke, shattering the tense build up. He was going for a non-aggressive approach, then. Thank _god_.

The twin with the dark hair shook her head, a small smile playing at her lips. "You're correct. Shiro and I aren't here to fight. We aren't stupid- we're outnumbered. But you're outnumbered too."

"You think that you're so smart. That you have it all figured out. You eradicate the corruption in 11, and all of your problems are solved. Right, brother?" The other, Shiro, taunted.

"You don't know the half of it."

"You think that this is a new development?"

"That _we_ are a new concept?"

"Aogiri, CCG. Ghouls, humans. What does it matter? They are one and the same."

"They have always been one and the same."

"Where do you think ghouls came from?"

Hide's blood ran cold. No. It couldn't be… that…

"Humans _created_ ghouls?" Kaneki's voice was barely louder than a whisper, but with the incredulous venom in his tone, he might as well have shouted it. Like a disease, the shock spread outwards from his soulmate, as each person in the group realized what had been said. The origin of ghouls was ambiguous at best, of course- no one knew if they were an evolved from humans, or a totally extraneous species. But to think that ghouls, humankind's only active predator, was born with intent?

Kaneki, unable to remain still any longer, broke ranks and pushed ahead. No one stopped him. "Why would anyone want this? Explain, Kuro!" Kaneki's blind fury rocked Hide. Maybe this mission was affecting his soulmate far more than they realized.

"RC cells were speculated to exist centuries ago. Both humans and ghouls posses them; it's the count that determines the species. As we know, ghouls have certain advantages over humans, namely strength and resilience. RC cells in humans were gradually increased, through experimentation and breeding. The one thing found to substantially increase the count, though, was cannibalism." Kuro answered, passive, as if talking about the weather.

"So in a controlled environment, those inclined to advance themselves tried to isolate the positive effects and negate the negative toll on health that eating human meat took. But the damage had been done- in the pursuit of pushing evolution, they had become something else entirely. It drove them mad. They could no longer stomach the food of humans, and their eyes grew dark, infected by the blood they endlessly spilt for their strength. RC cell claws grew from their backs, and, like wild animals, they hunted the people they once were, keeping to the wilderness."

"And no one could resist them. They had gotten what they wanted- insurmountable power. Measures had to be taken. Of course, it wasn't out of pure heroism- those who managed to take down these ghoulish beasts were lauded as saviors. A perverse truce soon formed- a select few ghouls were granted immunity, in order to keep the population going, and the rest were ratted out and hunted. The "heroes" were celebrated, and became the CCG. The ghouls founded what is now Aogiri Tree, although it underwent a revival under the current leader. Father said you wouldn't respond to force, or weak warnings. So listen to logic- Aogiri Tree is undefeatable. There will always be ghouls, and there will always be those that capitalize on manipulating them."

"Even if you kill them all, ghouls can be made, as well as born. Aren't we a testament of that, _brother_?" The pair laughed, and pulled their hoods up with little ado. "Think carefully about your choices from here on out."

They melted into the darkness, leaving only confusion and horror in their wake. "What should we do…?" The question hung in their air, sourceless. It might as well have come from all of them. Hide couldn't see Kaneki over the line of ghouls in front of the humans, so he drifted over to Amon and Akira. Her face was twisted in disgust, while Amon's expression was one of pure malice. He noticed Hide, even in the low light.

"And I thought it couldn't get any worse." He said darkly, and Akira snorted.

"Honestly, I'm hardly surprised. God, I can't believe we _worked_ for these people. I don't care what those little gremlins said, we need to _end this_."

Hide nodded. "Of course. We can't do it alone, though. It's up to Yoshimura- where is he, anyway?"

He looked back, at the ghouls. Kaneki was talking quietly to the group, too low for the three of them to hear. No sign of the manager.


	19. A Tick Tock Christmas

Once upon a time, there was a man named Kaneki, a rather glum sort of man, not always by choice. You see, he had very good reasons for his low spirits, but this tale is not about sadness. It is about Christmas spirit, and the joy of the holidays.

Kaneki had a very special friend, named Hideyoshi, though he preferred to be called Hide. Fate had a particular way of behaving in this world, bringing people together in love simply with numbers on their wrists. Friends, lovers, brothers, sisters. The relationship was fickle, hard to label. Maybe all at once, for love knows no bounds, especially the love of a soulmate. Hide was Kaneki's soulmate, and they loved each other dearly. Difficulty plagued their love from the start, but they never gave up on each other, not even in the direst of times.

Hide loved Christmas. Kaneki did not. Hide, thinking nothing of it (for his soulmate was usually at the very least a bit grumpy, though he attempted to hide it from Hide), tweaked his soulmate's nose and affectionately called him a grinch. But you see, Kaneki was not unlike the Grinch at all, in that his heart, at least, in capacity for loving the holidays, was about three sizes too small.

He had never truly celebrated Christmas, not like Hide, who had grown up with two loving parents and enough money to splurge on the costly decorating and gifting. Yes, he strung up lights at the coffee shop, and ice skated, and pretended to drink hot chocolate, but there was no enjoyment in the activities beyond spending time with Hide and their friends. He had no spirit to motivate him, unlike Hide, who struggled to bring a too-large Christmas tree into their apartment, unlike Hinami, whose eyes lit up as brightly as the twinkling lights she longed to see, unlike Amon, who made it a point to drag Akira under the mistletoe just so that she could make a show of complaining before kissing him in front of the others, hiding her pleased smile.

Up until he met Hide, Kaneki had really no reason to celebrate Christmas beyond cautiously giving gifts to his found family. In Japan, it was far less about religion and more a time to spread happiness and go on dates with a soulmate. So that was why, even if he harbored no love for the day, Kaneki invited Hide out to peruse the streets, to see the warm, glowing lights decorating the 20th Ward on Christmas Eve. After that they would finally finish decorating their tree, which they had put off until last minute, and then retire to bed. Kaneki, holiday quota filled, would simply accompany Hide to Antieku's Christmas party the next night and enjoy watching his soulmate having a good time.

Of course, things were never simple for Kaneki Ken.

It was terribly cold out, and even though he had bundled his fragile human Hide up in toasty layers, the redness in his cheeks and the shaking of his hands prompted Kaneki to cut that particular segment of the date short. They did stop to get hot chocolate, by which he meant, they got Hide two hot chocolates, which pleased his soulmate and his frozen fingers.

The tree decorating was, plainly phrased, a disaster. Hide managed to wrap himself entirely in tinsel, proclaim himself the Christmas tree, and give up, all within the span of an hour. Note: he may have partaken in a small helping (read: quite a

lot) of the eggnog Akira and Amon had given to them. Kaneki learned that day his soulmate was a particular drunk, his playful personality magnified tenfold and touched with a bit of craziness. It was amusing at first, but then Hide refused to actually deck the halls and whatnot, maintaining that he was more than willing to take the valiant, but far less attractive, pine tree's place.

At midnight, Hide wished Kaneki a merry Christmas, thanked him for the date, and passed out, still wrapped in scratchy tinsel and hung with a few ornaments Hide had snagged. He had wanted to wear the star as well, but after thirty minutes of fruitless attempts to adhere it to his spiky blonde hair, he pouted and drank some more.

When Kaneki woke up the next morning, on the much beloved Christmas Day, it was to Hide violently throwing up the toilet. No stranger to helping his loved ones though such an ordeal, whether it be from excess of alcohol or other, more ghoulish things that turned his own stomach, he rolled out of bed and went to his soulmate.

They went to work, dark glasses perched on the bridge of Hide's nose, for they didn't get the day off on Christmas, no matter how much they whined. Kaneki agreed, finding the holidays little reason to abandon his Quinx for a day (besides, he had gotten them all gifts, and Hide teased him about being a doting parent before downing four painkillers at his desk).

The party was uneventful, if not a little fun. Kaneki loved his friends, at least, even if he didn't love the holidays. Even Hide, sick and pained, threw himself into the fray with gusto, and Kaneki marveled at how much someone could love Christmas. Hide caught him under the mistletoe a few times, and even though Hide tasted like sour eggnog and rotten, cloying peppermint, it was probably Kaneki's favorite part of the evening. He and Hde, ever the Good Samaritans, stayed to help the manager and his daughter clean up afterwards.

Kaneki had no Christmas spirit, he was sure. Why would he? The holidays were not significant to him. Even as a human, his life had been rather cheerless, and ghouls, even in today's day and age, really took no part in celebrations for reasons beyond the need to fit in. Christmas was about happiness, and love, and giving. Things that he had never experienced, until a handful of years ago.

No Christmas spirit, he thought as he let Hide lean heavily on him, walking home, their puffs of breath mingling in front of them.

No Christmas spirit, he thought, as he read text after text of thanks, of well-wishes, from his squad.

No Christmas spirit, he thought, as Touka called to remind him that she had invited Kaneki and Hide to Yoriko's post-Christmas family dinner, because she wanted someone to actually eat the food, and they were, or course, Touka's family.

No Christmas spirit, he thought, as Hide kissed him goodnight, a murmured "I love you" on his lips, and his heart bloomed in his chest, full of affection and contentment.

Now, you see, Kaneki was a rather stubborn person. It took a lot to dissuade him from his chosen course of action, to convince him of a different opinion. For the majority of his life, he had lacked the Christmas spirit. His reasoning rang true like silver bells, as he had never been shown what the holidays could truly be. But, as he held Hide in his arms on that cold, Christmas night, his understanding morphed, casting Christmas in an entirely new light. He had a family. He was extremely happy. He had given in the spirit of the holidays, had received in equal measure.

Some might say his heart grew three sizes that day, enough to encompass Christmas and all it entails. But those who truly knew him laugh, shake their heads, for his heart had been big enough all along. He just needed people to come and fill it.


	20. Chapter 20

"We'll continue with our mission." Kaneki finally said, loud enough for all to hear. There was no trace of the anger that had consumed him before- only a calm neutrality. The switch gave Hide inner whiplash. Before Hide could even ask, Kaneki sighed and confirmed what he had noticed earlier. "Yoshimura didn't make it to our rendezvous point. The group that was with him said that they got separated, and he never found his way. Nevertheless, we have to press on.

"From this point, we stay together. No more splitting up. We take on this hell _together_." There was no dissent. Just a silent, grim sort of acceptance. Was this the reality of a ghoul? If he lived, Hide resolved to change what he could, to make the world a place where ghouls could live happy lives. So that they didn't have to live day to day, barely able to mourn what they've lost. Without another word, they started up their trek again. Akira, Hide, and Amon quickly caught up with the rest of the group, blending in. Hide made his way up to the front, to Kaneki.

Kaneki took his hand, keeping his eyes forward. They were inside the borders of 11, and the only resistance that they had met were those twins. If Aogiri knew about them, why hadn't they been stopped for real? And was that Hide's doubt plaguing him, or Kaneki's? His skin crawled, and he couldn't shake the feeling that they all were being carefully watched.

oOo

After extensive travel, they had seen no sign of life. All the buildings were abandoned, streets empty. They had been slowly circling to the center of the city in hopes of discovering something. It was in the early darkness of the morning- how long had it been since the warehouse? The heaviness of his eyelids suggested quite a while- that the noises reached them. It wasn't like whoever was making them were trying to be quiet- it was a wonder that they weren't dead, actually. Hide's feet hurt and he was hungry and he was thirsty, but the sound of others woke him up quick. Were they friends or foes? The ghouls anxiously drew up along the back of a building, shadowed but within earshot. They needed any information they could get.

"Damn. Radio signal, gone. Two of our quique, gone. No response to any backup calls. What the hell is going on here?" An Investigator then. Which didn't answer his question at all. He guessed they were on their own side.

"I'd dunno. If we hurry, we can make it to the border in a few hours, maybe-"

"And give up? I don't think so! We can't let these damn ghouls overrun Japan. Imagine if every Ward was like this. It'd be chaos. _We'd_ be the ones living in hiding."

"Calm down, Nezu. We're not retreating. Umeno, Michibata, stay close to those of us with quique. Keep checking the radio- maybe it's just temporarily down. I'm sure headquarters will figure it out." The voice that spoke next was commanding, and cold. He was obviously the squad leader. "Nezu, stay behind them. Itou, Kuroiwa, on either side of me. We're moving on."

"Yes, Hirako-san." They volleyed back, and Hide jolted with recognition. He tugged on Kaneki's sleeve to get his attention. His soulmate's eyes didn't move from where the sound was emanating, but he tilted his head slightly in Hide's direction.

"Hirako Take!" Hide whispered fervently. A few of the other ghouls glared at Hide, as if to say _shut it_ , but they were humans, they couldn't hear if he whispered, right? "He worked with Arima, one of the most talented Investigators-"

"Hide, _quiet_." Touka hissed. Hide had half a mind to glare right back at her, but then he noticed it.

The silence.

They were listening, too.

The agents- from what Hide can see in the lingering dark, and from what he knows as a former member of the CCG, incredibly skilled and unafraid of what awaited them- rounded the corner, unified and dangerous. There was a brief moment of peace, awkward by nature, as Kaneki and Hirako stared each other down. Hide could feel regret already brewing in the pit of his soulmate's stomach, regret and pity, because they all wanted the same thing, right? This war's tally of wasted life grew longer as it pressed father on, unnecessary, so, _so_ unnecessary. Only, Hirako's squad was definitely competent enough to cost _them_ too. There was no choice but to fight.

Hirako was grossly outnumbered, Hide thought, as he drifted back, painfully slow, to see if he could grab his quinque from Akira without drawing too much attention to himself. Still, he didn't like Kaneki so close to the front, sure that he would try and bear the brunt of the offense. Seconds seemed to stretch into hours as the tension thickened. Finally, Hirako raised his quique, blade glinting, in one quick swipe, and the Doves rushed in. Hide, heart in his throat, pushed through the crowd in an attempt to _do something_ , to help, but before a single blow could land, figures bursted out of the buildings on either side of the alley, swarming both sides of the interrupted battle.

Their kagune whipped mercilessly through whoever stepped in front of them, and with nowhere else to go, both ghoul and human ran frantically out of the enclosing space. Hide found himself leading the way, as the back end of the alley was the only clear path. Akira sidled up to him in the chaos, flanked by Nishiki, who was tasked with watching both her and Amon. His quinque, familiar, responsive, was passed into his hands, and he used its long-distance range to keep any stray enemies out of their way.

Now in a more open space, they could spread out and pick off whoever it was that so suddenly attacked them. Hide managed to cut down three- ghouls, they were all definitely ghouls, dissimilar apart from the cloak-like garment they all wore. It was- could they be- Aogiri? With Akira and Amon by his side, he could almost imagine that they were back in time, that his counter would be stagnant if he had a second to look at it. His stomach rolled at the thought. Even though his life was now incredibly turbulent, dangerous, perhaps even shortened drastically (he'd had way too many close calls these past few weeks), he wouldn't change a thing.

Hide's grip on his quique faltered as it switched from into its Bikaku form to deal with an aggressive ghoul intent on getting into his personal space. A sharp jolt jabbed through his stomach, like the phantom twinge of an old scar, and his opponent took their chance to bite heavily into his shoulder, just missing his neck. Hide gasped in pain, countering with a stab into the ghoul's side. They jerked back, taking strips of cloth and flesh with them, and he stuttered back, hand flying to his wound. Another painful pulse in his stomach let Hide know that it was more than random. Kaneki was fighting too, after all.

With that in mind, Hide spun and resolved to return to his soulmate's side, lending a helping hand along the way despite the throbbing of his shoulder. Akira and Amon would be fine on this end, working seamlessly, aided by their bond (and a handful of friendly ghouls). Surely he and Kaneki would fight better together. Adrenaline made him shaky but focused, and he soon saw that his soulmate was up against a sizable group, a whirlwind of motion. The humans of the Hirako squad were now more focused on the Aogiri ghouls than the Anteiku team, but there was a definite overlap. Hirako in particular was drifting closer and closer to Kaneki, whether to help or blindly attack Hide didn't know. He surely wasn't going to find out by letting it happen- Investigators were, of course, to remain totally impartial.

Gritting his teeth, Hide once again let his quique snap into a whip, catching one Aogiri ghoul by the ankle and yanking them away from his soulmate. They lunged at him, but Hide dodged and ran ahead, closer to the skirmish. Using the close distance to his advantage, Hide wrapped his weapon around the neck of the ghoul, eliminating the slack by leaning away, down, and pulled hard on the handle. The ghoul's head slammed into the asphalt of the street, and they stilled, blood pooling thickly as Hide carefully retracted his quinque. Deciding that he was now close enough to slice and dice, he let his mind succumb to his work, hardly aware of Kaneki's kagune sinuously defending him. Hide's head was awfully fuzzy from blood loss, but he never fell. His conciseness melted into Kaneki's, surreal and disconcerting. They fought.

oOo

"Hide," something brushed his cheek, and he leaned into the pressure, "sit down." He complied, and a tiredness settled deep in his bones. How long had they been fighting?

"Are we clear?" Hide breathed, and the hand on his face drifted to his neck, his shoulder, and he wanted to flinch away. The haze was beginning to lift, and he _hurt_.

Kaneki hummed, affirmative, "but you're worse for wear." There was a dangerous edge to his voice, and a smooth, snaking something that decidedly was _not_ a hand crept up his back, odd yet comforting. "I knew we were most likely being followed, but for me to not notice-"

"No need to blame yourself." Sensing a self-deprecating speech, Hide went ahead and cut him off. He reached blindly for Kaneki's other hand, twitching and sticky with blood. "Where are the others?"

"Around," Kaneki sighed, and Hide blinked into focus just in time to see his soulmate's eyes- one stormy gray, the other vibrant red and black- dart to the left uneasily. "As are the Doves." Hide followed Kaneki's

Hirako himself stood tall, uncaring of the gore that marred his suit. He did not quite have their back to them, but he was solely riveted with his own team, battered but alive. Hide shook his head and made to leaning heavily on his soulmate. Kaneki supported him with his body and with a warm tentacle around his waist, and he would say something, but Kaneki didn't seem to be aware of the appendages at all.

In all honestly, Hide was thankful for the help. There was something wrong with his ankle, nothing serious, just plenty sore, his skin throbbed with the promise of bruising, his head pounded, his palms stung. He would give almost anything for painkillers right about now- maybe Akira or Amon happened to grab some before they left, however unlikely. _Uuuugh_.

"I can hear the others, they're somewhere this way," Kaneki murmured into his hair, and they began shuffling down the street, hoping to go unnoticed. There were lifeless bodies everywhere, Aogiri grunts that had served no purpose other than to slow them down.

"Hey, you two!" someone called out, and Hide flinched. Kaneki paused, but carefully turned them to face the other agents. They were almost clear, too. Hirako, closest to them, made to step forward, but froze as he caught Kaneki's face. He flitted through several expressions, before settling on apathy. His eyes locked on Hide instead.

"It has been brought to my attention that several of your assets were very helpful towards my team. I would like to thank you. However, we weren't informed of another squad on site, let alone one so advanced already. I mean, we were told that squads incorporating the new weapons were to be implemented quickly but…" He trailed off, unable to keep his gaze from wandering. It took Hide a moment to realize that he was calling his friends objects. His soulmate an object. A _weapon_.

"Excuse me?" Hide sputtered. Hirako looked between the two, tilting his head. Kaneki tightened his grip on his shoulder.

"Aren't you the squad leader? I assumed, because you already had such control of _this_ one, though the others were-"

"This is my soulmate," Hide interjected, matter-of-fact. Kaneki sighed almost imperceptibly. "We aren't a squad. In fact, the CCG sent you here to die."

Hirako blinks twice. "W-what?"

Before Kaneki can stop him, he launched into a detailed explanation of what the CCG has done and will do, and how they plan to stop it. Hirako, thankfully, listened, although when the rest of his squad tuned in there were less receptive. Kaneki wasn't too keen on the previously hostile Doves, but even they couldn't dispute their timers ticking in tandem. His soulmate was the picture of politeness, baffling them with his soft-spoken manner at odds with the ghoul they knew as Eyepatch.

"This is very troubling," Hirako said later, as they regrouped with their respective teams. "It seems that we have no choice… but to work together."

Kaneki was just behind Hide, quietly giving directions to the team of ghouls, who were shaken but seemed nonplussed by the other humans. "Aogiri Tree needs to be dismantled, and the CCG needs to be exposed. We would really appreciate the help."

Hirako nodded, pensive. "You have it. I'm… disgusted, honestly. And of course, you _could_ be lying, but…"

Hide snorted, and Hirako smiled ruefully. "Trust me, man. I never said "revolutionary" when my mom asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. But the world is pretty shit right now, someone's gotta do something."

By this point, Kaneki had stopped talking, and Hide could feel that the others were listening-even the doubters. Kaneki's raptness, his silent reassurance, encouraged Hide to continue. "If not now, when? Pretty soon I think we'll get to a point where we can't fix this. And if not us, who, you know? 'The enemy of the enemy is our friend', right? And now, there's literal war brewing.

It won't be easy, of course it won't. The path that we've chosen to follow, the path of change, is really rough, and painful, no sugarcoating it. But if you help us _now_ , then maybe there's a chance for us to work together another day, on better terms, in a better world. One that's not dependent on sacrifice, and genocide, fear, hiding and oppression. God, I don't know. I'm not a leader, not really. Or a motivational speaker. I just want a future where everyone can smile, and _live_."

Hide, unsure with every pair of eyes on him, stopped, worried that he sounded too preachy or dumb. But a hand settling on his shoulder reminded him of what he was _really_ fighting for. Kaneki hummed lowly with approval. "Hide is right. We aren't fighting for personal satisfaction, or glory. We're fighting for change. Together. And I assume," Kaneki smiled, "that we all are in agreement. So now, the question is, where do we go from here?"

"I," one of the men from Hirako's team began, then hesitated. Hide nodded encouragingly. Something impish flickered in his eyes, and he straightened, a picture of confidence. He grinned wolfishly at him. "I have an idea."

oOo

They agreed to keep circling around to the center of the city, fending off lingering CCG and Aogiri agents as they went _with minimal casualties._ It was impossible to tell the unwitting accomplices from the insidious monsters. Stealth, a strong suit of both groups, aided them well, but the fox-faced member of Hirako's squad had suggested that they don the cloaks of the fallen Aogiri grunts and an extra measure of cover to get them closer into enemy territory. It was genius.

It worked pretty well, as far as disguises went. Of course, they were bound to find trouble eventually, if it didn't find them first.

Darkness, though more of a help than a hinderance, made it hard to see for the humans, and they chose instead to settle in an evacuated building for the night. It wasn't comfortable but it would do, and he settled into Kaneki's chest, content. He'd been adorably snuggly as of late, probably in part due to all of the recent near death experiences. Hide let his eyes slip closed as guard shifts were discussed. Boring technical blather that Kaneki would remember for him, he didn't have any brain power left for thinking.

For all of Hide's talk, the divide between the two groups was still sharp, obvious. Hide couldn't rest too easy with the copious tension in the small room, even with Kaneki skimming his hands over his arms, through his hair. Before he _did_ fall asleep, he cracked his eyes open just a fraction, enough to see Hirako on "his" side of the building, watching them. The look on his face was more curious than anything, but Hide had a sinking feeling that curiosity could quickly turn to fear-his teammates were antsy as it was. They only stuck around because _Hirako_ said to, not necessarily because they believed in fighting the good fight. If Hirako changed his mind-

"You're thinking too hard," Kaneki chuckled. Hide felt the words more than he heard them. "Sleep. Your shift won't start for a few hours, at least."

"W' 'bout you?" Hide fired back slowly, garbled in his tiredness. Kaneki didn't reply, at least not verbally. The smell of coffee seemed to curl around them for a brief moment, and Hide realized with a jolt that Kaneki was wanting coffee, remembering coffee. "Aw. We didn't… bring any?"

His soulmate sighed mournfully. "No, we did not."

"Poor… baby," he teased, punctuated with a yawn, and Kaneki pulled on his ear playfully.

"Don't patronize me, Hide." The grip on his ear slackened, and Kaneki traced his hand down the side of Hide's neck, semi-tickling, semi-arousing.

Hide laughed low in his belly, trying to stay quiet. There were others trying to rest, and this felt somehow very intimate. Tender. It was a shame that they were in an open room, maybe they could-

"Hide, we aren't sneaking off to have sex," Kaneki whispered, sounding mortified. Hide snickered, glad that Kaneki caught the drifting of his thoughts. "Go to _sleep_."

Hide moved out of Kaneki's grip to lay on the floor, resting his head on his soulmate's lap instead. His body twinged a bit from where he'd gotten hurt earlier in the day, but it _sorta_ seemed like maybe Kaneki's healing factor, or hardy nature, was numbing a some of the pain for him. _Perks_. "Okay, _okay_. I'm not _that_ voyeuristic."

"Good," Kaneki said quietly, but vehemently. "Wait, not _that_ voyeuristic?"

Hide tried very hard to pretend to be asleep.


	21. Chapter 21

In the morning, Kaneki- who, despite Hirako's original assumptions, was far more a leader than Hide was- and Hirako met to quietly discuss the game plan.

Hide passed the time by checking in with everyone else, finding them rattled but determined. Even Hinami, bless her, was still going strong, playing lightly with a patient Tsukiyama's hair. The ostentatious man had calmed down some, the gravity of this battle settling heavily in his mind. Banjou admitted that he was homesick and missing his gang, though glad that he didn't drag them into this. Nishiki missed Kimi, of course, but insisted that he was ready for a fight, and would return to her a hero. Amon and Akira were significantly less hardy than the ghouls, but they were holding up, having seen their fair share of hard times. Hide was pleased to see them sitting close together, exhausted but obviously happy. The others, like the new Investigators, who he wasn't so familiar with, didn't have much to offer besides a faint greeting or polite conversation.

Touka was slightly calmer than usual, even accepting Hide's company with little complaint. He expected an eye roll or a gruff dismissal when he settled next to her, but she just side-eyed him and sighed begrudgingly.

"Hey Touka-chan!" He greeted when he wasn't outright rejected. "How are you?"

"How do you think, dumbass?" She retorted snappishly, but with less gusto than usual.

Hide was finding that it was hard to stay cheery around this lot for long. "Right, right," he trailed off, but stared at her until he met his eyes. "Wanna talk about it?"

"You know I don't like you very much," she grumbled instead, but he tried his best puppy dog eyes, and her frown twitched lower. "If I do, will you go away?"

"Maybe," Hide grinned, hoping that he came across as friendly instead of annoying. With Touka, it was hard to tell- she was usually standoffish, but Kaneki said that she had a good heart. Just like with Nishiki and Tsukiyama, it was a simple matter of roughing it out until Hide fell into their good graces. He would like to be on okay terms with her, at the very least. Especially in these tough times.

"Fine," Touka groaned, and squared her shoulders. It took a beat for her to gather her thoughts, but what came out of her mouth was the last thing he expected. "I have a brother."

Hide blinked. "Oh," he said, unsure of how to respond. She narrowed her eyes.

"He works with Aogiri," she reluctantly explained further. "The first time we… you know, rescued Kaneki, he…"

"Oh," Hide said, with more understanding. How awful, he wanted to add, but he could see that she wasn't looking for pity.

"Anyway," Touka said stiffly, "I'm not looking forward to seeing him again."

Hide shrugged. "I guess I can't blame you," and then, because she needed it, "we're here for you."

By we, he jointly meant both of their combined friend groups, but the implication, the offer of friendship, was there. I'm here for you, if you want me to be.

Touka lowered her head, and her bangs swished, hiding her face from him. Ah, the dismissal he was expecting. Hide started to rise, ready to go bug Kaneki and Hirako, when she murmured, "I appreciate it," so softly she might not have meant it for him to hear. He allowed himself a smile as he went to find his soulmate.

oOo

Their large group was too conspicuous, so splitting up seemed like the best option.

Hide ended up with Kaneki, of course, Touka, and Banjou. Amon and Akira joined Nishiki and Irimi, Tsukiyama and Hinami let a few of the Investigators accompany them, so on and so forth. They would all head towards the center at different angles, making sure to take out or disable any warring factions they found along the way. Then, as united front, they would all converge on the main base when the regrouped.

At least, if everything went without a hitch.

"The air reeks of trouble," Touka commented as they set out, falling easily in line next to Kaneki. Banjou seemed content to drift behind them, scanning their surroundings as they set out.

The half-ghoul sighed, and Hide linked their hands, looking across his soulmate to Touka. "Feels like we're headed straight for the lion's den, tbh."

She actually smiled, a little. Was it a little patronizing? Perhaps, but he was pretty pleased nonetheless. Kaneki remained silent, though he did squeeze Hide's hand once. Through their bond, he could feel Kaneki's anxiety creeping up through his mellow facade. He did his best to keep spirits high and the conversation light as they drew closer to what would most likely be a huge showdown.

...Maybe Hide's perception was a bit skewed from television and film, but the actual journeying part of a journey was actually kind of boring. Even when he read the occasional fiction novel, the writer was always really good about keeping things interesting. He guessed that wasn't an easy skill to master, and that most stories probably fell short of engaging when nothing important was actually happening to the characters. They didn't even come across any trouble that wasn't easily avoidable or quickly taken care of by the three ghouls and he human.

Hide ate some non-perishables, he thought to himself as he took on the monotonous landscape.

Hide small-talked with the others. Nothing of import was revealed. No development occurred. Why would the writer include such pointless filler?, he continued, chuckling quietly to himself.

"What are you laughing at?" Kaneki asked softly, thumb rubbing slow circles into his hand.

"Nothing, hon," Hide smiled, and then decided to ask, "we almost there?"

Banjou answered him. "Not long now." The man had been extraordinarily quiet up until then, and Hide couldn't help but jump when his voice boomed behind him. Kaneki snickered despite himself, and even Touka had to turn her head to hide her smile. Glad he was fulfilling his self-appointed role as the jester then. He guessed. But then the easy mood dissipated into the night air, quickly overtaken by trepidation, unease, when they caught up to the other small groups. Hide could see a few still meandering over on the horizon, but for the most part this was the final stage before diving into the belly of the beast.

They stood in the shadow of some industrial-looking structure, looming and foreboding. Well hidden, no one could see any activity, but those with more sensitive ears could hear activity abound both outside and within the building. Hide did not have the wherewithal to ask if this was the same location that had been under siege the last time; besides, it was most likely a new base chosen by both the Aogiri executives and the CCG President, robbing the Anteiku ghouls of any advantages. Hide could hear only the bubbling of water, most likely emptying into some sort of chemical waste channel due to all the experimentation going on inside. He shuddered. Would he be able to take down a half-ghoul if the poor patients were set upon them?

Once they were all together again, it was almost an unconscious decision to drift away from the noise, away from the enemy, along the ugly unkept back of the building. There, behind a nasty, painful looking fence only a few guards stood watch. The fence enclosed a surprisingly large amount of area, but the very leftmost side of the yard was overtaken by the flow that Hide had heard earlier. It was thick and dirty, and trailed off into the darkness. The pipe that jetted the fluid looked barely large enough to accomadate their largest party member if they couldn't get through the door, but it would do. Like, as a last resort. Definitely.

The door was guarded, of course, but lightly, and it looked outmoded to fit in with the rest of the decrepit setting, but Hide was sure that it was more secure than it looked- ergo the small detail watching it. It was quietly discussed, mostly by Hirako and Kaneki- who was becoming more and more on edge, to Hide's dismay- that taking out the gaurds would be easy enough, and that the only two problems would be making sure they didn't radio in for backup and the matter of getting through the fence, then the door.

The fence, while high, could be climbed, but it was dangerously barbed and Hide honestly felt like he would get tetanus just by looking at it. Hirako suggested that the humans be carried over by the ghouls, as they could only be hurt by kagune, but for all they knew the fence could have been crafted by the CCG with anti-ghoul precaution in mind. It was Touka who noted that if they could find somewhere tall enough in range of the yard, she or another Ukaku ghoul could take out the guards from a distance, and then they could just knock down the fence or cut some sort of path through the wire, as that was all it was- wire, no electronics or anything involved.

Touka's plan worked out alright. Quinque made quick work of the fence without endangering the ghouls, just in case it really would hurt them, while keeping the humans far enough away as well. The guards were simply unconscious- as per the mandate that innocents were indistinguishable from the crazies that were willingly working here- just groaning a little as the group took in the door. It, at first glance, looked relatively uncomplicated, but the dilapidated double door had a fancy new electronic lock that would probably sound an alarm if it was tampered with. It had a slot for a keycard to the left of it, but the number pad on the actual handle of the door would definitely be a challenge. The guards had no visible cards on their person, so it was up to a few of the group to carefully search each guard while a few of them puzzled over the possible combination. The rest of them milled around the open space, looking for any other clues. You know, trying to be helpful. It was getting dark, and the only light was above the door, so they were still safe in shadow. It was also quiet.

Too quiet.

The hairs on the back of Hide's neck rose suddenly, and before he could blink he was tackled from behind, careening into the solid wall of the warehouse. His head cracked against it, and then everything went dark.

oOo

She watched as they swarmed the unprepared intruders. Her forces were overwhelming. They stood no chance. The beating of wings distracted her. He talked. Begged. She pretended to listen. She was far more preoccupied with overseeing the chaos below them. Kaneki, of course, put up a terrible fight, and the CCG agents surprised her with their tenacity, but most of them fell eventually. A few slipped away, shameful. They left their downed teammates to their own devices. Their bodies- dead, alive, she couldn't tell, didn't care- were dragged inside, leaving only bloodstains behind.

He talked on, heedless of her inattention.

It was foolish to ask such things of her. He didn't understand her at all. Fathers seldom understood their daughters.

oOo

The Aogiri building was abuzz. The rumors flew. Those in support of their organization told tales of the fabled prisoners laid low, beaten soundly, chained up, suppressed. Kaneki himself, the legendary fugitive favorite of their Jason, subdued again, paying for his transgressions. The takeover would be successful; this brief upset was quickly and effectively dealt with, and Aogiri's influence would spread across the entirety of Japan in no time.

However, underneath breaths, behind hands, in the shadows, whispers of hope spread like wildfire. Those who had been imprisoned, fettered by Aogiri, had heard that Kaneki Ken had escaped, and could do so again. The new prisoners were strong, and were kept separate from the common prisoners, only testifying to their power.

Aogiri would fall. It was only a matter of time.


	22. Chapter 22

Admittedly, getting taken as prisoners was not part of their plan. Hide was nauseous as they dragged each of them off one by one, starting with the ghouls, of course. They could be put to work. Hide had a sinking feeling that humans at Aogiri were far less useful in that respect. Kaneki held tight onto his hand until it was his turn to go, the grunts approaching him with lecherous smiles. Kaneki only stood gracefully and refused to let them manhandle him, quietly claiming that he knew his way around. It was only after Hinami had been pulled that Hide crumpled into himself, face scrunching in an effort not to cry.

The three of them- Hide, Akira, and Hirako- were left in some sort of cold, stone holding cell. Hide wouldn't deny that he felt kinda bitter about Hirako's squad abandoning them, but this wasn't their fight, and it never was. Amon, too, slipped away, but Akira whispered to him while they were alone that he was keeping in contact. Hirako sat scowling against the wall, drumming his fingers against his bloodied slacks. He supposed it was up to them now. If Hide could somehow contact the ghouls before the humans were tortured, killed, eaten- and god that was a terrifying thought- they could still pull this off. He sketched battle plans in his head as he carefully kept track of Kaneki's feelings through their bond. He was distressed, obviously, but he was keeping an iron grip on his fear. He wished he could check in on the others, too, but he was sure that they could hold their own. We'll figure this out, he silently promised, and we'll end this once and for all.

oOo

The guards were stupid. And very talkative. Apparently Hide was a very entertaining human, and it didn't take much to get in their good graces. One of them was a half-ghoul, further securing sympathy for Hide, and it was only a matter of time before he was able to set up correspondences between him and his soulmate, with occasional messages to his friends. The three of them were moved a few times, but never seriously threatened beyond a little roughing up here and there. Kaneki bluntly informed him through a paragraph written on a napkin that they were being used as blackmail; Kaneki had already orchestrated an escape attempt once. As long as they were left unharmed, he would behave and do what they asked. Hide didn't think about what that entailed.

oOo

The days were starting to bleed together. Hide couldn't tell anyone how long it had been since he'd seen the sun, which was depressing. Akira and Hide had been let out of their cells on occasion, and fed sparsely, so it wasn't like he was suffering. Hirako refused to cooperate at all, so he was more often than not confined in a small solitary space. He looked more sickly every time Hide got to see him.

oOo

Kaneki was starting to lose his grip. Without going into specifics, he had admitted to Hide that his work was taking a toll on him. The others had settled into their grunt roles well enough to get by, but nobody was happy by any means.

Hide doubled his efforts on pushing out escape plans. He and Akira carefully compiled detailed information on the layout, guard rotations, numbers, etc., of the building in hopes of being over-prepared this time around

oOo

It was getting hard to think, but Hide kept trying. The guards were getting tired of his forced friendliness. Not all of his notes reached his friends, he knew.

oOo

Hide made good use of his remaining paper, laying out the framework for their escape over several days, repeating things to be sure they sunk in.

oOo

The others saw no point in revolting. Japan was doomed from the start, they insisted. We don't stand a chance.

Hide sent more letters.

oOo

Everything was in place.

oOo

"Hide must be it of his goddamned mind," Touka hissed as she roped Kaneki into a side hallway. She knew most of the ins and outs of the place from an inside informant. Kaneki had a feeling it was her brother, but she doubted that he would deign to help in taking down the very organization that she had lost him to. Kaneki didn't think Ayato was as misguided as she seemed to think, but that was just his opinion.

"We have to try something. I'm losing my mind in here, Touka," he fired back. Not that he had much of a mind to lose, but Hide was slipping away too. They had only been here three weeks, and the CCG was fully under Aogiri control, much to the ignorance of the public. Any resistance had proven to be futile. Hide insisted that an inside job was the perfect way to tackle this behemoth. He supported his soulmate of course, but even he had mostly lost faith.

Touka grimaced. "I also know it won't be long until that asshole gets tired of staying away from you. You insulted him by escaping. Rumor has it that he's pissed."

Kaneki closed his eyes, fighting the urge to flinch. Rize cooed gently at him somewhere in the recesses of his head, and he spoke to drown her out. "Of course he is. The more I work up the ranks, the more chances I have of bumping into him. Ugh."

"But the more you know for Hide's stupid idea," Touka muttered darkly, and Kaneki's throat clenched. He could see the downsides of action all too clearly. "We need to try something," he repeated instead. Hide's last letter had been written on a tiny sheet of paper, barely an inch long, and just read today. Kaneki was the only person that Hide could get messages to reliably, as he had barely enough pull to keep the guards from dismissing his soulmate. They had started tossing Hide's letters to the others in the trash for a while now, so it was up to him and him alone. "Today, during rotations. The patrol today is larger because of the recent border conflicts, meaning less resistance inside. Have you been fighting the suppressants like I told you?"

"We have," Touka admitted, subconsciously shifting her shoulder blades.

Kaneki nodded, and then drew closer to her. There were always perceptive ears around, and if any of this plan got out, it wouldn't be good at all. "We have at least two of our own in each level, plus the small alliances we've built up. That should be enough to overwhelm the basic guards.

The heavy hitters will still be in the building, though. If any of the high ranking officials are seen in an area, we don't engage alone. We fall back and mow down all of the easy targets first. Then, we liberate the prisoners, find out who wants to help fight, and then take on the rest. All of this has to be done before the patrol returns. Tell anyone who you think might be an ally to help if they can. Use our code words."

Touka glared at him for a few moments, then relented. "I guess anything's better than sitting around and waiting to die. If we go down, we go down fighting."

"That's the spirit," Kaneki sighed sarcastically.


End file.
